


The Dragon

by CodyNaomiSwire



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Animal Transformation, Book/Movie: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, F/M, Fantasy, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14367429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodyNaomiSwire/pseuds/CodyNaomiSwire
Summary: When Rapunzel and Co. encounter a mysterious black dragon seeking their help, the gang must work to adjust to their newest traveling comrade...and attempt to restore a shattered trust.Inspired by C. S. Lewis's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".





	1. Chapter 1

“Guys! Guys, wake up! We’ve got a big problem!”

  
Blearily, Rapunzel opened her eyes to the sound of Cass’s urgent whispers, Pascal croaking drowsily at her side while across the campsite Eugene and Lance let out groans of irritation at being woken up so early, their shadowy forms emerging from their tents as Cass beckoned everyone to her, Maximus striding up from where he had been dozing.

  
“What is it this time Cass?” Eugene mumbled angrily, rubbing his tired eyes as they all gathered around Cassandra, who was presently sending Owl up into the canopy of trees above them, his eyes fixed down the pathway the black rocks had been leading them on, as if watching for something.

  
“Is it that annoying cabbage vender again?” Lance asked, having sat down to pull on his boots.

  
“No,” Cassandra whispered, signaling for them all to keep their voices down. “Something far worse!”

  
“Like what?” Rapunzel inquired, noting the odd look in Cassandra’s eyes; one she was not used to seeing often from her. Whatever Cassandra saw, it had jolted her, badly.

  
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Cassandra began, but Eugene interrupted.

  
“Cass, in the last year alone we’ve all seen magic hair, mysterious glowing rocks, and near-sentient mechanical life forms made by an insane child genius. I’m sure whatever you saw can’t compare with any of that.”

  
“Oh yeah?” Cass hissed back. “What if I told you we’ve got a _dragon_ sitting directly in the path of where the black rocks want us to go?”  
There was a moment’s silence as everyone stared at Cass wide-eyed.

  
“Heh heh, sorry, sorry,” Eugene tried again, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes in disbelief. “I must’ve misheard you Cass. I thought for a second that you said you just saw a _dragon_.”

  
“Cass, are you sure?” Rapunzel inquired, not unkindly, as Cass had opened her mouth to snap back at Eugene. Cass turned to Rapunzel.

  
“I know what I saw Raps. I could hardly believe it either, but there’s no doubt.”

  
“Yeeeeah, could we clarify things for just a sec?” Lance said, starting to look nervous. “By ‘dragon’ do you mean those horrible giant reptiles that fly and breathe fire?”

  
“I don’t know about breathing fire,” Cass answered, “but this one definitely flies. And it seems to be quite clever. It knows we’re here.”

  
“How do you know that?” Eugene asked, now also beginning to look nervous at the idea of encountering a hostile flying lizard way out here in the middle of nowhere.

  
“Because while I was keeping watch I could see it circle directly over our campsite. When Owl and I went to investigate where it landed, it had sat down right in the middle of the black rock’s path, looking back in our direction.”

  
Cass paused ominously, then saying what was on everyone’s minds now. “That thing knows we’re here, and it’s waiting for us.”

  
At these words, Maximus snorted sharply, his muscles tensed as if readying for battle, and Pascal let out a frightened squeak.

  
“So what do we do?” Lance asked. “Can’t we just go around the thing?”

  
“Or maybe it’ll just go away?” Rapunzel thought aloud.

  
“I shouldn’t think so,” Cass said. “Judging by the looks of it, this thing doesn’t intend on going anywhere. And my concern is that any attempts to go around it will result in it following us either way, if not all-out chasing us.”

  
“So again, what do we do?” Eugene asked. “I don’t think any of us know anything about fighting dragons!”

  
“Well, it’s probably best not to stay put in any event,” Rapunzel offered. “I mean, if it knows we’re here, the longer we stay here the more likely it is to come looking for us, right?”

  
“What are you getting at Blondie?” Eugene inquired.

  
Rapunzel paused for a moment, thoughtful, then took a deep breath as she said, “I say we go out there and face it, head-on.”

  
“What!? Are you crazy?” Lance piped up, then immediately clearing his throat in apology. “Er, I mean, with all due respect princess, I don’t think any of us are prepared to fight something like a dragon.”

  
“Hopefully, it won’t come to fighting,” Rapunzel continued.

  
“Don’t tell me you think it’s _friendly_ ,” Cass groaned, not fancying the idea of having to explain to the king and queen why Rapunzel lost her hand to a dragon’s hungry bite.

  
“We don’t know that it’s _not_!” Rapunzel retorted, though noting the skeptical looks from her comrades. “But,” she continued, “even if it’s not friendly, we do outnumber it. Maybe we can convince it to back down by a show of numbers. And even if we can’t, I’d rather take my chances, fight our way through, and keep on the path the rocks want us to follow, instead of risk getting caught by the hair by a monster we won’t see until it strikes.”

  
Cassandra let out a deep sigh. “You have a point there, Raps. And I think you’re right.”

  
“Me, too,” Eugene agreed, laying a hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder as Maximus and Pascal gave their own chirps and whinnyings of approval.

  
“Are we sure about this?” Lance asked, though finding any of his protestations dissipating like vapor as he met his comrades’ un-amused eyes. “Yeah, ok. Guess we’re doing this then.”

  
As it had been agreed, the group gathered their weapons to prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a dragon. With a trusty frying pan in hand, Rapunzel grabbed Eugene’s free hand as they all clustered together, carefully making their way forward down the path marked out for them by the black rocks, Cass and Maximus leading the way. For a few tense moments, Rapunzel rather hoped that Cass had somehow been mistaken, and that either what she saw had not in fact been a dragon, or else if it were indeed a dragon, then it had gotten tired of waiting for the gang to emerge from the trees and had decided to seek its breakfast elsewhere.

  
But Rapunzel’s heart immediately went into her throat and then down into her toes as they rounded the bend, and she saw the large, dark, winged creature planted firmly in the pathway before them. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance all let out silent gasps as they beheld it. It was just like something out of a fairytale! The creature’s body was very tawny, about the size of a merchant’s cart, and its scales were an inky black. It also sported yards of tail, huge bat-like wings, and its cat-like eyes seemed to glow an icy-cold blue.

  
“Stay back everyone,” Cass signaled to them, Maximus bravely standing tall and erect as the dragon laid eyes on them, Cass setting an arrow to her bowstring. As she did so, Rapunzel noticed the dragon’s posture shrink in response.

  
“But…it doesn’t seem very threatening…” Rapunzel began.

  
“Don’t be fooled Blondie,” Eugene replied, squeezing Rapunzel’s hand tighter in his own. “This thing’s smart, remember.”

  
“But look!” Rapunzel exclaimed as the dragon darted back several paces, its eyes catching the glint of Cass’s arrow’s tip in the dawning sunlight. “See!? It’s scared of us!”

  
“That’s good isn’t it?” Lance asked. “I mean, that’s what we want, right?”

  
“Keep on guard people!” Cass snapped over her shoulder, her eyes and arrow never leaving the beast before them, and Maximus snorted and stamped the ground in front of him. “We don’t know what this thing is capable of. It could pounce on us at any second.”

  
At Cass’s words, the dragon stunned everyone by shaking its head from side to side, as if saying “no”.

  
“Wait…” Lance dared to breathe, everyone having frozen still. “Did that thing just-?”

  
“Yes, look!” Rapunzel piped up, the dragon nodding in response to Lance’s inquiry. “Guys! It understands what we’re saying!”

  
“Eh, big deal,” Eugene replied. “Most animals do. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t want to kill us.”

  
Again, in reply, the black dragon shook its head no.

  
…And to everyone’s utter astonishment, also began to shed tears.

  
“Ooooh, it’s crying!” Rapunzel exclaimed tenderly, taking a few steps forward.

  
“Stay back Rapunzel!” Cass commanded her. “It could be a trick!”

  
Again, the dragon shook its head, now letting out a weak, croaking cry in response.

  
“Stand still!” Cass shouted to it, the dragon freezing as her arrow aimed at its heart, and everyone else hearing theirs pound in their ears in the intensity of the moment.

  
“Cass wait, please!” Rapunzel cried, both girls’ eyes meeting for a moment. Finally, Cass gave a small nod, lowering her bow a little, though her arrow remained firmly on the string.

  
“Um, dragon!” Rapunzel addressed the creature, feeling Eugene lay a hand on her shoulder from behind, his sword made visible to the creature as he stood by his beloved. “Are…are you here to hurt us?”

  
The dragon shook its head.

  
“Oh, good! Good!” Rapunzel said, though everyone else still looked suspicious of it. “Then…um, could you tell us why you’re here then? Why are you following us?”

  
The dragon seemed to concentrate hard, a few gravely roars and moans escaping its throat, as if it tried to form human words. But after a few attempts, the creature gave up with a frustrated snort, more tears beginning to pour from its eyes.

  
“Oooh, don’t cry!” Rapunzel cooed, attempting to get close to the dragon, but was stopped by Eugene’s firm hand on her shoulder.

  
Suddenly, Maximus seemed to prick up, his ears turning forward as he gave a few chuffs and whinnies in the dragon’s direction, attempting to talk with it. The dragon’s eyes went wide in response, reflecting first utter surprise, understanding, and then immense relief as it replied to him, its hissings and rumbling roars vibrating in the air in front of them.

  
The exchange between the two creatures went on for a couple minutes, with Pascal chirping in as well from Rapunzel’s shoulder every few syllables. While the humans had absolutely no idea what was being said between them, it must’ve been quite confounding and distressing to the animals, as Maximus began to display signs of confusion, then disbelief, anger and aggression, and then finally a kind of stunned sympathy as the exchange came to the end, and the dragon again sank down into tears.

  
“What is it Max?” Rapunzel finally asked as Pascal quickly made his way down Rapunzel’s hair and to the ground. “What did it say?”

  
Maximus gestured over to Pascal, who had begun to draw in the dirt with his tail. Lance and Cassandra kept their eyes keenly on the dragon as Eugene and Rapunzel watched Pascal illustrate to them a message.

  
When he was finished, Rapunzel gasped, suddenly understanding. What Pascal had drawn was the figure of a human being, then an arrow, and then a dragon.

  
Rapunzel turned back to Pascal’s inky black, reptilian cousin. “Dragon, you…you were a _human_!?”

  
At this, both Lance and Cassandra risked a glance away as they looked with utter astonishment at Rapunzel, then all eyes turned to the dragon as it nodded slowly in dismay.

  
“What!? It was a _human_!?” Eugene exclaimed. “But… _how_!? And who!?”

  
At his question, Rapunzel couldn’t help but notice the awkward exchange of glances that went on between Maximus and Pascal. “Wait,” Rapunzel said, addressing the two of them. “It’s…it’s someone you guys know?” The two animals exchanged another glance, before nodding hesitantly.  
“Is it someone _we_ know!?” Rapunzel yelped, her eyes widening in horror as the two animals nodded again.

  
“But who!?” Lance cried. “And are we gonna be next!? Who did this!? Where are they now-!?”

  
Time suddenly seemed to slow down as the pieces began to fall into place in Rapunzel’s mind. _Someone they all knew…someone whom Max was willing to show aggression towards, then pity…a mysterious and drastic shift in appearance…blue eyes…_

  
_“Could it be…?”_

  
“Rapunzel!” Eugene called as the princess took a few steps forward towards the dragon, his hand reaching out for her, then being met with her own as she looked at him with reassurance over her shoulder. Holding his hand tightly in her own, Rapunzel continued to walk carefully towards the woebegone beast, Cass and Lance holding their weapons at the ready, though taking the silent signal not to stop Rapunzel as she approached the dragon with Eugene in tow.

  
As she came up to it, Rapunzel took a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever answer she may receive from the creature before her. “Dragon…” Rapunzel tried one more time, hoping for once that she was wrong in what she was about to ask. “You’re not… _Varian_ , by any chance?”

  
Rapunzel could hear the gasps of her companions behind her at her words, and she felt her heart ache with dismay as the dragon began weeping again, and managing to convey a few nods in response.

  
_It was Varian!_

  
For a moment, everyone present had no idea what to do or what to make of the situation. The shock for them all was massive, and a whole flurry of questions began forming in everyone’s minds.

  
Rapunzel could feel Eugene begin to raise his sword at her side in response, every fiber of his being ready to protect Rapunzel from a threat that had once again reemerged, if only in a changed form. But Rapunzel gently held out a hand in front of him, giving an appreciative smile as she calmly knelt down by the head of the weeping dragon. The dragon that had once been Varian flinched, surprised by her closeness as she looked down at him, a whole milieu of emotions reflected in his sad, glistening eyes, and a whole storm of her own reflected in hers.

  
Anger, sadness, confusion, betrayal, pity…

  
_Compassion…_

  
Finally, the strongest of the emotions won out in the end, and Rapunzel did what she had secretly longed to do for the hurting boy ever since she had last seen him on the horrible day in Old Corona; even after everything that had happened between them.

  
Laying a gentle hand atop his head, Rapunzel pulled the scaly snout into her lap, and gently brought her arms around Varian’s neck. “Don’t cry Varian,” she whispered comfortingly to him. “Sssshh, it’s gonna be ok now. We’re here. We’ll figure this out, don’t you worry. Ssshhh, there now…”

  
Rapunzel wasn’t even sure if Varian would believe such words coming form her anymore, but if he had been desperate enough to seek them out in whatever new mess he’d gotten himself into, perhaps there was still a chance he would. To her relief, Rapunzel felt Varian lean further into her touch, a both pained and purring rumble vibrating in his scaly throat as the others looked on, astonished by this latest and most strange occurrence in their travels.

  
_“Don’t you worry,”_ Rapunzel thought, allowing both feelings of compassion and hurt to cleave through her heart as Eugene knelt down beside her, hugging her around the shoulders in reassurance as she mopped up some of the dragon’s tears with her skirts. _“I_ will _help you this time Varian. I won’t let you down. We’ll figure this out. I promise…”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little warning for this particular chapter - As a dragon, I describe a bit about Varian’s new dietary needs, which aren’t particularly pleasant. For the most part it’s just implied, but there are some parts that may make a few people squeamish. Just so you’re aware. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it!

“O-Okay,” Eugene stuttered, feeling a horrible sense of vertigo as he looked down passed Varian’s big, bat-like wings, forcing down the feeling of nausea that had settled in his gut as he gripped Max’s saddle with both hands, knuckles turning white as his fingers curled hard around the pommel. “I-I think we can head back down now kid. Th-that’s enough scouting for now I think.”

  
Varian snorted in irritation, puffs of smoke escaping his nostrils briefly as he made to slowly circle down back to the ground, where the rest of their traveling company awaited them with baited breath. Their upturned faces were keyed in on the two of them as they flew in stark contrast against the pale blue sky above, Rapunzel’s face looking especially worried as Varian and Eugene glided dozens of feet in the air above them. Not only had she been worried about the possibility of one or both of them plummeting down from such a height for whatever reason…but this had also been an exercise of trust in a way, and nervousness clawed at her insides as her beloved braved the initiative to take up scouting with their newest and yet-to-be-fully-trusted reptilian comrade.

  
Needless to say, having a dragon join their company – let alone a dragon that had once been human (and one they hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms with before parting last) – had become an adjustment for everyone. Despite Varian seeking them out in desperation over his situation (the details of which were still largely elusive to the humans of the group), the levels of distrust were still very high between himself and them. Despite the one tender scene between Rapunzel and Varian at the moment of revelation over his identity as the woebegone beast, the atmosphere between them had significantly stiffened since then.

  
While Varian hadn’t shown any signs of aggression towards anyone, he still couldn’t help but have a resentful glint come into his eyes from time to time as he had traveled with them for the last two weeks; the wounds of the past not healing so easily, even when he was forced to seek their help once again. Eugene and Cassandra in particular were very leery of him, and one or both of them seemed to always have an eye on him whenever he had to be anywhere near Rapunzel and the others. Even at night, the two of them would take turns over who would keep watch, and Varian knew it wasn’t just in feeling the need to look out for bandits or wild beasts.

  
Granted, when it came to wild beasts, most of them would either pick up on Varian’s alien scent well before getting anywhere near the group and would stay away…or else Varian would see to it that they didn’t come any closer. That had become one of the most disturbing things for him in becoming a dragon – he now had many of the instincts of one somehow, too. He shuddered whenever he thought of the first time he had felt the urge to hunt surge through his veins, and nearly made himself sick the first time he had felt his jaws swiftly end the life of a wild boar, hardly knowing what he was doing until it was too late. Such an experience probably would’ve broken him…had it not been for the aching hunger and the tantalizing taste of pork that had made him be able to move on from it surprisingly well. He had been alone, after all. He needed to survive, and dragons couldn’t eat plant matter as a steady diet. What else was he to do?

  
That had been two days before he had found Rapunzel and the others, and since then, he had made it a point to not depend on them more than he had to (for his own sake as much as theirs). This seemed to suit the others just fine, what with their own food stores having to be rationed significantly between them as it was, and Varian bitter at the idea of having to accept any more of their charity than necessary. Besides, hunting as a dragon could be a very messy business, and despite his ill feelings towards his former friends, he didn’t want to have to subject them to seeing how he got the sustenance he needed to keep his dragon body alive.

  
…It shamed him, if he were honest. Not that anything could be done about it, but there was still enough of the human left in him to feel revolted by it all, and wanting nothing more than to go back being the naïve patron at the butcher’s market, not having to witness where his food had come from. (Or perhaps after this whole experience he would just become a vegetarian.) Though one thing that made him able to bear it better was finding out that the hunting skills he had acquired were indeed just that – a set of skills. Which proved to come in handy when the rest of everyone’s food rations began to run low. Sure, most of them had been startled the morning he had returned carrying a few dead pheasants in his mouth, but Lance, surprisingly, was thrilled by Varian’s unexpected contribution to their expedition, and with his cooking expertise, everyone had found themselves enjoying a glorious roast pheasant dinner that evening.

  
Varian of course had put on an air of doing all that out of a great reluctance (why would anyone want to help their enemy?)…but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of warmth in his chest at seeing everyone enjoying the fruits of his labor, and everyone giving him a “thank you” for providing the food for them. (Granted, the “thank you’s” came with a tone of uncertainty, but at least it was something.)

  
Still, like Rome, trust wasn’t (re)built in a day. As such, when it came to be agreed that Varian’s skills with flight ought to be used for scouting for the group, it was also agreed that at least one of their company ought to also go up there with him, to make sure he wasn’t leading them astray or into any danger. While Varian had been offended by this arrangement, he also couldn’t help but understand their concerns. Especially when he couldn’t speak his intentions, he would have to resort to showing them through actions, this being one of them.

  
With a few minor adjustments, they were able to fashion Maximus’s saddle into a suitable makeshift one for Varian as well (as his scales made it too rough for anyone to ride him bareback), and thus their first test flight had taken place that day. It had been agreed (partially through argument and partially through drawing lots) that Eugene would be the first one to go. For a first-time dragon rider he had done surprisingly well, but even with his head for heights, the feeling of gliding on air for several minutes at a time wasn’t something one took to easily, and while Varian didn’t risk taking him so high that he couldn’t get the oxygen he needed, the thinning air also made for a dizzying experience.

  
Varian just really hoped Eugene didn’t lose his lunch all over his back while in mid-flight. Then he really _would_ be sorry.

  
Luckily, Eugene was able to hold it together as they descended back down to earth, Varian dropping down into a galloping halt as the others jogged up alongside. Shakily, Eugene dismounted, steadying himself as he kept a hand on Varian’s side.

  
“Oh Eugene!” Rapunzel breathed in both relief and pride as she ran up to him, pulling him into a hug. “You guys were amazing up there! Are you all right?”

  
“Y-yeah,” Eugene replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “Nothing to it. We’re fine, everything’s fine!”

  
Cassandra gave a skeptical “tch!” under her breath in response, her eyes rolling at Eugene’s feigned confidence, and her steely gaze resting on Varian as he looked back at the others. Varian’s eyes narrowed as they met Cassie- …Cassandra’s. Trust definitely wasn’t rebuilt in a day, especially between those whom you had cared about the most it seemed.

  
_“You did look amazing up there!”_ Pascal chimed in from Rapunzel’s shoulder, Varian’s head turning to him in response (and still trying to get used to the fact that he could now understand the speech of his fellow animals). _“I wish I could fly like you Varian!”_

  
Though not understanding his speech, Rapunzel could tell from Pascal’s tone and the expression that he must’ve been complimenting Varian with great enthusiasm. With a smile, Rapunzel gently nudged Pascal with her cheek, giggling a little. “Looks like someone has a fan,” she offered cheerfully, hopeful eyes turning to Varian. But Varian managed to respond with a small nod of acknowledgement. Any cheerful response from him was hard to come by these days, especially when he had to endure seeing Pascal and Rapunzel (and Cassandra and Owl at that) share their close human-animal companion friendship, while he had been forced to leave Rudiger behind on the day he fled from Corona as a dragon.

  
…He missed the little raccoon terribly.

  
Pascal croaked somewhat sadly at Varian’s lack-luster response to his praise of him, the atmosphere once again turning awkward as everyone struggled to figure out how to respond to one another.

  
“So…” Lance finally offered, cautiously moving to Varian’s side, removing the saddle from his back. “What did you guys see up there? Anything we should be worried about?”

  
“Well, there is a gorge with a waterfall due straight east from here,” Eugene said as Varian gave himself a full-body shake, feeling relieved at finally having the saddle off his back. “We definitely won’t be able to cross it to the other side before nightfall, so it looks like we’ll have to find a place to camp nearby.”

  
“Um, sorry but, couldn’t we just fly over?” Lance asked, giving a kind of “hint-hint” glance at Varian, who rolled his glowing dragon eyes in response. He wasn’t some sort of beast of burden! Plus while he may have gained quite a bit of strength in his new form, there was no way he was going to carry four adults, a week’s worth of supplies, and a horse over a gorge in one night. Even if he took it in trips, it would be murder on his wings and muscles.

  
“I don’t think Varian likes that idea Lance,” Rapunzel chimed in, noting Varian’s disgruntled expression at the idea. “Besides, that’s a lot to ask him to carry. We’ll have to find another way over in the morning.”

  
“Fair point,” Lance concurred, sidling away a bit nervously as Varian fixed him with his icy blue eyes, and the party continued on their way, Varian opting to take this opportunity to peel away from the group for a couple hours while he hunted, his inky black form rising into the sky once again. He would catch up with them later.

* * *

 

Cassandra hated it when Varian went off on his own like that. He may have caused minimal trouble up to this point, but she still did not trust him. Heck, he did so much damage as a scrawny fourteen year old before. What sorts of things could he do to them now as a adolescent _dragon_!?

  
The feeling Cass got when he went off on his own was like having a wasp in the room; knowing it was there, but not knowing exactly where it was, and feeling like it could turn on you at any second without you seeing it. It was an irritating kind of suspense. She had half a mind to tell him that he wasn’t allowed to leave their sight, but she knew this would make Rapunzel upset, and it’s not like they could force Varian to comply with such an arrangement anyway.

  
As per usual when this happened, Cass signaled for Owl to take flight while keeping cover, keeping his eyes peeled should their dragon decide to go rogue. She knew this would upset Rapunzel too, but Cass didn’t share nearly the same optimism as their princess.

  
…Especially when she remembered nearly having her ribs crushed by the Vatomaton during the battle that day in Old Corona… There was no way she was risking having them (or anyone else’s) torn out by dragon’s claws.

  
It also didn’t serve to ease everyone’s mind when they knew why Varian would go off on his own. Rapunzel felt queasy at the idea of Varian hunting live animals. But at the same time, she also felt her heart go out to him. Despite what he may have done in the past, she knew that at his core Varian cared about living creatures. He had made it a point to make his critter traps humane after all, way back when he had first developed them. It wasn’t fair that now he had been forced to live this way.

  
And at the very least, eating alone wasn’t usually a pleasant affair for anyone. Rapunzel would know. And it was a shame that he was forced to do so by himself out of necessity and decorum.

  
Of course, he did eat with them that one night when they had the pheasants he had brought back for them. He didn’t eat much, but he did agree to sit nearer to them than he ever had any other night. Usually, whenever they would camp out for the night, Varian would set himself down just at the edge of the campsite, curled up like a snake, and no one else daring to go near him when he did that.

  
This night seemed to be no exception.

* * *

After getting his own dinner, Varian had found a small pool to wash in. After taking care of that, he again took to the skies, relishing the feeling of the cool night air brushing through the gaps in his scales, drying him off and making him feel refreshed as the forest passed by below him. In scanning the forest canopy, his dragon eyes caught site of Owl, who glided up a ways to meet him as he showed him the way back to camp. Unlike Maximus and Pascal, Owl was a creature of very few words, but Varian rather liked it that way. Owl didn’t try to intimidate Varian (as Maximus initially did), nor did he try to make small talk with him (as Pascal often would). He just let Varian be, and Varian was fine with that. While Varian did miss Rudiger’s affection – and of course wondered what sorts of things the little guy would say to him now that he could understand his language – Owl was at least an honest creature, and never pretended anything around Varian.

  
Oddly enough, Varian really appreciated that. He knew Owl didn’t entirely trust him – and had kept an eye on him per Cassandra’s orders – but Owl made the affair so matter-of-fact that Varian’s offense towards him was minimal. Besides, he rather liked how Owl seemed to make an effort to balance his showing of distrust with by serving as Varian’s escort to camp every evening. There was just something rather nice about it, as the two flying creatures of the night made their way to where their comrades awaited them.

  
“Oh, there you are Varian!” Rapunzel greeted Varian as he came back to camp, Varian hardly batting an eye at her positive tone. “I don’t know if you’re still hungry, but I do have some cupcakes left from the village we passed through the other day. Do you want one?”  
Varian blinked, genuinely considering her offer before shaking his head, turning to curl up in his usual place at the edge of camp as he would wait for sleep to take him.

  
“Oh, ok,” Rapunzel replied, disappointed, and saddened at Varian’s stubbornness in once again declining an invitation to join them around the campfire. “Well, sleep well then.”

* * *

As the minutes ticked on by, Lance couldn’t help but feel a new unease for Varian as everyone continued to talk and swap jokes around the campfire together. Finding himself tuning out of the conversation as the feeling persisted, Lance risked looking over at where Varian’s dark form lay, faintly highlighted in the growing moonlight. Lance couldn’t help but feel a grimace come to his face as he studied the boy-turned-dragon. It was very unnerving to see Varian’s dragon form all coiled up like a large dark boa constrictor, his head resting on his curled tail, and his icy blue eyes seemed to stare blankly at nothing for minutes on end before finally blinking. Lance had a feeling that Varian wasn’t even aware he was doing it. It was like when any ordinary person would find themselves spacing out and just staring into the middle distance all trance-like, lost in thought, and probably not even thinking about anything ultra interesting in particular.

  
But with Varian’s dragonish eyes, the effect was far more unsettling. It looked almost as if instead of just thinking about nonsense, Varian was instead contemplating the depths of the universe that he had only just begun probing as an alchemist, and was now gaining the secrets of by just looking at it with those new eyes. And if anyone happened to be in his line of site when he was like that, it was like having a creature of legend look right through you and into your very soul.

  
…Dang, did this kid scare him!

  
With a shiver, Lance tried to turn his attention back to his friends and the mirth of their company. But for some reason, the fire refused to warm his spirit, and his friend’s conversations didn’t sound the same to his ears. Nothing felt the same.

  
…It just didn’t feel _right_.

  
Again, Lance turned to look back at Varian, who had scarcely moved an inch since he first settled down to sleep. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of Varian’s chest as he breathed, and the fire still burning cold in his open eyes, one would almost have thought he was dead. This thought made Lance feel even more uneasy…but not in the same way as before.

  
Lance had hardly had any interaction with Varian when he was human, and what little he did have had been thoroughly unpleasant. The only time he had even seen the little guy was when he they had stormed his house to free the queen from his clutches, and that had hardly been a usual occasion. But Lance had heard about Varian’s plight from the others, and like everyone else, he couldn’t help but feel a degree of sympathy for the boy. Goodness knows that Lance knew what it was like to be (all but) an orphan, to feel lonely, and to be incarcerated. To face that at such a young age was something no one should have to bear.

  
And now, apparently, Varian had a complete body transformation on top of all that. No wonder he must feel dead inside.

  
Before Lance could stop himself, his mind suddenly made itself up, and he quietly got up and moved away from the merry circle around the fire, forcing his trembling legs to make their way towards the black dragon a few yards away.

  
“Ahem,” Lance signaled his approached with a quick clearing of his throat. Startled out of his thoughts, Varian’s head snapped around, making Lance flinch at the viper-like movement. Though Varian’s expression remained neutral (if also a bit puzzled), as he blinked up at Lance, waiting for him to speak.

  
“Er, um, h-hey there, kid- er, Varian,” Lance began. “Just…thought I would come over and see how you’re doing. You’re holding up ok right?”  
Varian cocked his head to the side, thoroughly confused by Lance’s manner, but presently managed a small nod in response.

  
“Good, good,” Lance replied, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other, trying to ignore the unnerving feeling of Varian’s eyes studying him. “Just uh…thought I would come over and make sure. You’ve been rather quiet lately.”

  
At this, Varian gave the closest to a raised-eyebrow as his dragon face was capable of.

  
“Oh! Right! Sorry, sorry!” Lance said, face-palming himself. “Stupid comment. I’m sorry.”

  
With a sigh through his nose, Varian turned away, settling down again.

  
“Oh, hey now, don’t be like that,” Lance tried again, his voice kind as he sat down near Varian’s head. Varian’s eyes turned to him quizzically as he approached. “I’m sorry, really. I just…You know…”

  
Lance sighed. “Look. I just can’t bear the thought of you hanging out here by yourself, alright?”

  
Varian’s eyes widened a bit, showing interest for Lance to continue, surprised by the attention he was getting form the reformed rogue he barely knew.

  
“I mean, nobody should have to be all alone like this. You like your space though, I get it. Nothing wrong with that. But…I just worry about you, that’s all. I know what it’s like to be alone, and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. Especially a kid like you.”

  
Varian let out a huff through his nostrils. _A kid?_ Did the guy not see the giant winged lizard sitting right in front of him?

  
“Hey now, I mean that,” Lance continued. “Look, I don’t know how…all of this happened,” Lance said, gesturing to all of Varian’s dragon form. “But I do know that the guy inside of it all hasn’t changed, right? You’re still just a kid inside, yeah?”

  
Varian let out a groan, his eyes looking downward. _“You’re wrong,”_ he wanted to say, but of course the words wouldn’t come. _“Everything is different now.”_

  
“Oh…” Lance muttered, still getting the general meaning of Varian’s gesture, scratching the back of his neck in awkwardness as he wondered how to continue. He thought he would be better at this.

  
A few moments of silence passed, Lance’s mind trying to think of something, anything that he could talk to Varian about. But what was he to talk about? He didn’t know anything about alchemy, or being a dragon, or-

  
Then, Lance caught a glint of a subtle shade of blue on Varian’s forehead.

  
“Heeeey!” Lance exclaimed, Varian’s eyes darting to look back up at him. “Did you know that some of the scales on your head are blue?”

  
Varian blinked up at him, surprised, shaking his head slightly. While he had seen his reflection in the water since turning into a dragon, it had hardly served as a clear mirror for him to study himself. He never imagined that his discolored streak of hair had also left its impression on his transformation. And apparently, going by how Lance only just now noticed it, the shade of blue must’ve been incredibly subtle. It was probably only because Lance was now so close that he was able to see it.

  
“Well they are!” Lance continued, Varian feeling a new kind of awkwardness about the situation, but not an unpleasant sort, as Lance suddenly gushed. “So fancy!”

  
For the first time in a long while, Varian let out an amused snort, a dragon-like huffing chuckle escaping his throat. Lance couldn’t help but give a small laugh with him.

  
“Haha! Yeah, who’s a fancy dragon?”

  
Varian allowed himself to spit out a couple of harmless sparks in response, enough to humor Lance while also telling him to not gush over him like a child.

  
“Sorry, sorry,” Lance chuckled in response. “I get it. You’re too old for that kind of talk. Though you know…this all reminds me of something that happened to Eugene and I a few months back. Have you ever heard the story about Red and Angry?”

  
Varian shook his head.

  
“No!?” Lance asked, his tone suddenly turning to a dramatic almost sing-song tone as he began. “Well then, sit back my fine fellow, and let ol’ Lance tell you the story. It all started when Eugene and I were training the guards on how to catch a thief. Needless to say, those guys needed all the help they could get. Though the Captain didn’t seem to think so. Outright refused by help he did. But then…”

  
Varian found himself listening intently for many minutes as Lance recounted the tale of how he and Eugene met Red and Angry, how they took it on to try to be mentors to them for a day, and then how they all worked together to outsmart Anthony the Weasel and the rest of the the Baron’s men. Varian had to admit, Lance was a great storyteller, and just listening to him recount his story was the closest he had come in a long time to being taken out of the miserable situation he had currently found himself in, if only briefly.

  
It was the most peaceful Varian had felt in a long while…

  
“So yeah, Eugene and I were sad to see them go,” Lance explained, by now having somehow shifted sometime ago to leaning against Varian’s side, with his arms gesturing in front of him as he rounded off the story. “But we knew Red and Angry needed time to be away for a while. And we’re also pretty sure that we’ll see them again sometimes. When they’re ready.”

  
As he finished, Lance turned to see Varian’s reaction to his story…only to find Varian’s eyes closed and him softly snoring – the droning, gently vibrating snores of a dragon.

  
“Huh…” Lance whispered to himself. “Well what do you know, dragons _do_ snore.”

  
It was at this point that Lance suddenly became aware of the time. By now, the embers of the campfire had begun to dim, and Rapunzel and Cassandra had already retreated to their tents for the night. Eugene, however, had stayed up, watching Lance from a distance as he had told his yarns to Varian, and now gave Lance a nod of approval as their eyes met across the way, Lance for once looking bashful at the show of pride from his friend. This done, Eugene then pushed his way into his tent to turn in for the night as well.

  
Lance let out a yawn himself, carefully getting up so as not to disturb the sleeping dragon at his side, the moon highlighting the streak of blue across Varian’s forehead once again.

  
“So fancy,” Lance couldn’t help but whisper to himself as he too made his way back to his tent.


	3. Chapter 3

Varian still wasn’t entirely sure what had all happened then. He had never even believed in dragons before that fateful night several weeks ago, and even in _becoming_ one himself, he could still hardly believe it.

  
It had been a terrifying night. That much he had been certain of. Varian had been given a mysterious note sometime before (he had found it in an unmarked envelope under his pillow), telling him how to make an elixir that would, apparently, allow him to escape from the custody of the king of Corona, and be able to “fly free” again if he brewed it properly. Of course, Varian knew better than to trust mysterious notes from strangers – let alone ones telling him how to make something he was meant to ingest…but _knowing_ and actually _doing_ were two different things, and Varian chose to do the foolish thing.

  
He had been desperate, after all, and he figured that things already couldn’t get worse than they already had for him.

  
_Boy had he been proven wrong yet again…_

  
It hadn’t been easy getting all of the ingredients that the formula required. Not only was it hard smuggling in everything he needed in the first place (despite doing odd jobs around the palace on a daily basis), but having to ferment various molds on crusts of bread and wedges of cheese without being discovered had been among the most difficult things he had to do. It wasn’t easy hiding something like that when his room was inspected both first thing in the morning and right before he went to bed at night. Plus keeping them in an airtight place was imperative – not only due to smell, but inhaling that stuff could also be extremely dangerous – and that proved to be a challenge to arrange for. But with the fortunate luck of having a few loose bricks in the thick walls of his living quarters, some sealing wax, and a few loose floorboards under his bed, Varian was able to carry out the processes needed to make the necessary ingredients for the mysterious potion with relative safety and secrecy (certainly an impressive amount for someone without a proper lab space, nor equipment, and under near constant surveillance).

  
The only ingredient that had been allotted to Varian within the envelope itself had been a mysterious black powder that didn’t react to any of Varian’s tests on it (of course him wanting to make sure it wasn’t poison before using it), save for turning a glowing blue hue when exposed to an open flame like that of the one stump of candle he had been allowed to have in his room. But given the results of other testing, such a phenomenon didn’t mean a lot to Varian at the time, so he pressed on.

  
The stump of candle was certainly no Bunsen burner, but it had done the job he needed it to do when the time for brewing the potion finally came. Ruddiger, of course, had shown his concern over the whole operation from the start, and Varian now wished with all his aching heart that he had been able to understand the little critter’s speech that night when the little raccoon nearly screeched at the top of its lungs for him to stop has be braced himself and gulped down the meager amount of elixir he had been able to successfully create.

  
The next few minutes had been a blur in Varian’s memory, but he did vaguely remember the floor suddenly rushing up to meet him, the sound of glass shattering, Ruddiger’s frightened face in his own as Varian lay writhing on the ground in apparent agony, his insides feeling like they were on fire. The sounds of someone yelling to him from outside the door to his chambers, a fumbling at the door handle…an explosion of blue fire some time later, followed by a crumbling wall of the tower…the feeling of running, and then diving into freefall, the sounds of a frightened raccoon fading away above him…then the spreading of new, cramped wings as they caught the cold, midnight air, and then…and then-

  
_“VARIAN!”_

* * *

Varian jerked harshly out of his sleep as he heard his name called, the last tendrils of his dreams clearing from his brain as his eyes darted around frantically, his mind frightened and confused as he flailed for a moment, trying to sort out where he was and what was happening.

  
_“Whoa, take it easy there soldier!”_ Maximus’s reassuring voice said at his side, Varian’s eyes stopping to meet the horse’s as he spoke again. _“Are you alright there kid? You seemed to by having a bad dream or something.”_

  
_“Y-yeah, I’m ok…”_ Varian answered, still feeling unsettled by the alien sound of his own, dragon-esque voice. Even after several weeks of being in dragon form, he preferred to use it as little as possible. It felt too strange; too alien to him. He missed his old voice.

  
_“You sure?”_ Maximus inquired again, Varian nodding in response.

  
_“Well, all right then,”_ Maximus replied uncertainly. _“Sorry to wake you up like that, but I didn’t want you to hurt yourself or wake anyone else up, the way you were twitching around and whimpering. Nearly letting off a few sparks from your maw there you did.”_

  
_“Sorry…”_ Varian muttered contritely.

  
_“Don’t be,”_ Maximus said, his gaze turning briefly to the east. _“Hmm…I’m afraid it’ll be dawn in just a short while anyway, so probably best for us to get up now.”_

  
With another nod, Varian rose to his feet, and gave a long stretch and body shake like a drowsy cat, ignoring Cassandra’s watchful eyes on him as she waited for everyone else to awake as well (she herself having taken the last portion of the nightly watch). After stretching, Varian plodded his way over the nearby pond for a cold drink. As he lowered his head towards the water, he paused briefly to snort sharply at the reflection that stared back up at him from the murky surface, the ripples his snout created as he began gulping down the water making the reflection even more of a distortion to him as he drank with bitter resentment.

  
He remembered the first morning after that terrifying night when he first saw that reflection in the muddy waters of the gorge he had crashed into the night before; seeing the results of what that accursed potion had done to him. He was never sure if whoever gave him the potion recipe intended for it to actually be helpful to him, or if it had been their idea of a cruel practical joke – just another punishment to add on to the pile of miseries already stacking up in Varian’s life. In a way, the potion had done exactly what the note said it would do. Varian did escape the custody of the king, and was able to “fly free” now.

  
But in some ways, he had never been more imprisoned in his life.

  
It had been the most daunting revelation of Varian’s life, and understandably so. But it had also come with a whole slew of emotions that even Varian felt disturbed by, despite his hatred of the royal family and the kingdom that had given him the cold shoulder. At first, he had felt understandably shocked and horrified…But then came the disturbing _glee_ of realizing just _what_ he was now, how _powerful_ he had become in this new form, and what things he could do now to “get even” with those who had wronged him. If Varian was hesitant to say a few normal words in dragonese, he for sure never wanted to hear again that dreadful dragonish cackle that he found himself letting out that day as he thought of all those horrid things he could do to their majesties and the kingdom now that he was a dragon.

  
That had been the tipping point.

  
Just hearing that horrible noise echo off the walls of the gorge was enough to make it hit home for Varian, and suddenly…he no longer wanted it. _None_ of this! He truly _had_ become a monster now, and (in large part) by his own hand! Perhaps he was now even permanently cut-off from the entire human race for the rest of his natural life. He was suddenly hit with a loneliness and hopelessness that felt ten times deeper than the muddy gorge he had fallen into, and the longing for a comforting human presence (even from Rapunzel!) was enough to make him shed his first, large, hot, dragon tears, and the cackle that only a moment ago resounded off those walls around him was just as quickly replaced by a screeching cry that would’ve broken the heart of anyone who would’ve been around to hear it.

  
Varian gave another disgusted snort as he thought of this, turning away from his reflection as he made his way back to the camp, he and Cassandra barely acknowledging each other as Varian took the remains of last night’s hunt and commenced to eat his breakfast, Cass’s eyes narrowing at the sight as Varian tore into his meal before the others would be awake to witness it.

  
_“…This can’t go on,”_ Cass thought to herself.

* * *

Everyone had been plenty surprised later on that morning when it was Cass who insisted that she be the one to accompany Varian on the scouting mission that day. Usually, the warrior maiden wanted almost nothing to do with the young alchemist-turned-dragon, and was hesitant to be more than a few yards away from Rapunzel’s side whenever he was around. Yet despite everyone’s curiosity over Cass’s sudden insistence on the matter, they did not feel inclined to question her about it.

  
“I mean, maybe she just wants to try being friends with him again?” Rapunzel mused to Eugene in a low voice as they worked to pack up their camp.

  
“Blondie,” Eugene replied gently, “I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but aside from you, Cass has never really tried to be friends with anybody.”

  
“Well, she did with Varian that one time, remember?” Rapunzel tried again. “She even gave him permission to call her Cassie!”

  
“Yeah, before he tried to kill her, _and_ us,” Eugene retorted, his teeth clenching hard at the memory of that fateful day in Old Corona. Then his face became sorrowful, as Rapunzel grew quiet next to him, clearly upset by his statement. Eugene laid an apologetic hand on her shoulder and a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Hey, I’m sorry Rapunzel,” Eugene said softly. “I shouldn’t have said that. That was uncalled for.”

  
“No no, it’s ok,” Rapunzel replied, forcing a smile in return as they quietly finished cleaning up the campsite, and then looking to continue following the path of the black rocks once again.

* * *

Varian struggled to hide his discomfort as Cass fastened the saddle tight to his back as they prepared for scouting that day. Did everything this woman did have to be so uptight and harsh all the time!? Even when Eugene would have his turn on the scouting missions, he made it a point to make sure Varian was as comfortable as possible with how he put the saddle on him. But when it came to Cass, she made no effort to ask if he was comfortable. Varian let out a low, rumbling growl of warning as she continued to tighten the cinch around his abdomen, but Cass didn’t even flinch at the noise as she buckled it where she thought it suited best.

  
_“Figures,”_ Varian thought to himself angrily, wondering if it was a sign of her not trusting him to keep her on his back in mid-flight (…and also randomly wondering if this was what it felt like for women to wear corsets all the time. If that was the case, they suddenly became ten times more resilient in his eyes than he had ever given them credit for).

  
“Alright, you ready?” Cass said dryly as she got onto Varian’s back, Owl also at the ready to accompany the two on their flight shortly after their own takeoff. Varian gave a quick, grumpy nod in reply as he spread his wings, crouching down like a cat readying to spring, and then launching himself into the air with several powerful pumps of his jet black wings, the world of the sky opening up before them. Despite Cass’s cool demeanor, and the howling wind now blowing passed them as Varian rose higher and higher into the air, Varian was just able to pick out the smallest sound of a surprised yelp from Cass as the ground suddenly left them, and the treetops began to shrink into a tossing sea of green below. It was all Varian could do to not let a dragonish laugh escape his throat at the sound, and instead focus on leveling-off once they reached the right altitude, Owl now moving to catch up and glide alongside them.

  
For several moments, things were rather calm as the three of them soared though the sky, their eyes scanning the ground and horizon around them keenly, looking for anything that may be cause for concern for their friends watching from below. While Varian could detect a degree of nervousness from Cass at first, she seemed to become at ease surprisingly quickly as they glided along, and Varian couldn’t help but wonder what she must’ve been thinking the whole time.

  
…Was she amazed by this world in the sky? By the world only _he_ was able to show her? Was she, by chance… _proud_ of him for it? Did she find _him_ amazing as a dragon?

  
If Varian were still a human, he surely would’ve blushed at the idea of Cassie- er, Cass being proud of him. Out of curiosity, Varian risked a quick glance at her over his shoulder, though a part of him cautioning him to not get his hopes up – that likely Cass would just be as stoic as ever, even over something like this.

  
But when he looked, Varian was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was Cass clearly amazed by the experience of flight…but she clearly _loved_ it!

  
Varian quickly set his eyes forward again, not wanting Cass to have caught him watching her. But surely, he would never forget the look of pure delight on her face as she took in the new world he had shown her from up in the clouds. He would truly remember that moment always.

* * *

Cass couldn’t help it. She was _awestruck_!

  
While Cass had of course experienced something similar when riding in one of Andrew’s hot air balloons, riding on the back of a dragon felt so much faster and more adventurous than that experience ever had been, and it was such a thrill to be flying neck-and-neck alongside Owl. That was truly something she had never imagined seeing herself doing before! Cass would’ve been terribly embarrassed to have anyone see the look of childlike delight on her face as she took in the world of the sky, but she couldn’t help it. It was magnificent!

  
_“Of course,”_ she thought to herself, her smile fading away as the idea came to the forefront of her mind, _“there’s still the similarity of both guys having tried to kill me and my friends…and me risking my neck for the greater good in flying with them.”_

  
Cass looked down at the black dragon that had once been Varian, her gloved hands gripping hard at the pommel of the saddle as she thought of how bizarre it all was – to be flying on the back of a dragon that had once been _Varian_ of all people; who had clearly been crushing on her since shortly after their first meeting, who had been one of the most dangerous forces Corona had ever had to face, whose mutated raccoon had nearly killed her father, who nearly crushed her with his monstrous Vatomaton, and whom she was now going on a scouting mission with dozens of feet up in the air after he had gained the abilities of flight _and_ breathing fire, _and_ as they were following the black rocks to some unknown destination that only fate had foreknowledge of.

  
…Dang, her life was weird!

  
_“This can’t go on,”_ she thought to herself again for the second time that day. True, Varian had caused much less trouble than Cass would’ve ever imagined in such a situation as this (not that she would’ve imagined such a situation anyway), but still. Even if having a dragon in their company had its share of advantages, it also had an ample amount of awkwardness to it as well. Plus Varian was clearly miserable as a dragon, despite whatever small delights he may’ve gotten from his new abilities. Cass (as well as the other humans) still had no idea how Varian got himself into such a state – and Cass dreaded to even speculate how that might’ve been – but despite any ill feelings she may have had towards him, she would never have wished this on him. Varian may have deserved a lot of things, but this surely wasn’t one of them.

  
Huh, if she thought _her_ life was weird, Varian’s certainly wasn’t anything to sneeze at either. Perhaps they were in the same boat in that way.

  
“…Hey, Varian?” Cass finally ventured to say, Varian’s head turning a little to the side so as to see and hear her better above the breeze blowing passed them. “Listen, I…I’m sorry.”

  
Both Varian and Owl glanced at each other in utter surprise, Varian letting out a small shocked noise, but waited patiently for Cass to continue.

  
“I…I know I haven’t exactly been all that nice to you since you joined our little adventure,” she said. “Though…if I’m honest…I still don’t entirely trust you. But then you know that.”

  
A disappointed rumble sounded through Varian’s throat at these words, and Cass feeling a slight dip in their altitude in response. “But,” she quickly continued, “that doesn’t mean I should’ve been so cold to you either. It’s just…” Cass sighed. “Look, I’m just not very good at this, alright? Making friends I mean. Let alone making amends with enemies.”

  
Varian felt that perhaps he should’ve been offended by some of Cass’s words there, but the novelty of having her open up to him at all was so surprising that he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt, and instead kept silent and listened intently.

  
“I just don’t really know what to do here. About you I mean. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean it like that,” Cass interjected quickly as Varian gave a quizzical glance at her. “I just…I don’t understand why you came to us in the first place, you know? I mean, seriously Varian, why are you here? Why did you think that we could do anything to help your situation?”

  
Varian was silent in response. Cass sighed.

  
“Yeah I know, I get it, you can’t actually tell us,” Cass said, recalling how hard the boy had tried repeatedly to convey to them the many thoughts and feelings he must’ve had over the weeks, but had eventually given up on the attempt. “But…I don’t know, can’t you give us some sort of sign? Do you have any ideas? What is it we’re supposed to be looking for to help you? What are _we_ actually supposed to do?”

  
Again, Varian was quiet, and after her own frustrated sigh, so was Cass. To be honest, Varian had no idea how being with Rapunzel and the others was supposed to help him. It just seemed to be the only remaining option for him. There was no way he could’ve gone back to the capital, there was nothing left for him in Old Corona, and there was no way he was going to try his luck in contacting any strangers who likely would’ve killed him as soon as looked at him (or else sell him on the black market as an exotic pet). No, if there was any chance of him getting help – whatever that help was supposed to look like – Rapunzel and her other friends were his best bet at finding it. He had been right, after all, in his assumption that as long as he was able to get across to them who he was, that they would believe him, take pity on him, and at least he wouldn’t be doomed to a lonely existence as a fire-breathing reptile.

  
But Cass had a point. Despite their good intentions, Varian’s friends- er…that is, companions weren’t any closer to figuring out how to actually rectify his situation than he himself had been. And in spite of whatever help he’d been able to offer them as a dragon, he knew deep down that his presence had also been burdensome to them in its own way. He was another member they had to keep track of, another mouth to feed (despite him taking care of that largely on his own), and another ever-present danger knocking on the backs of their brains (despite whatever tense peace they were able to maintain between them). Varian knew they must all be exhausted from it…and he was too.

  
…O how he wished he were human again-!

  
“Hey, what’s that!?”

  
Varian shook himself out of his melancholy thoughts as Cass’s voice sounded at his shoulder, and he could hear her pull her spyglass out to get a closer look at whatever caught her eye. Varian mentally kicked himself for his lapse in focus, and quickly began scanning the ground with his own eyes to pick out what had caught Cass’s attention.

  
“There!” Cass called as Varian hovered, his own dragon eyes picking out the small flashing lights that came from somewhere up ahead, along the path the black rocks had made for them. Varian squinted hard, then letting out a dragon’s gasp he realized what they were. Those weren’t just any lights. They were glimmerings and flashes of sunlight reflecting off of steel blades.

  
It was a bandit’s raid, and they were attacking a trade caravan!

  
“There’s no time to get help from the others,” Cass thought aloud, tucking her spyglass away as she considered the situation quickly.

  
“Hey, Varian?” she then inquired at his shoulder, a smile coming into her voice as Varian craned his neck around to make eye contact with her. “What do you say we put some of that fire-breath of yours to some good use?”

  
Varian’s eyes went wide for a moment, his brain trying to quickly process what Cass proposed they do. And then presently, Varian replied with a thrilled dragon’s hiss, and with a signal for Cass to hold on, began to move into a dive down towards the small clearing in the trees where he could better see the soon-to-be battleground.

  
_“Don’t worry Cassie!”_ Varian thought with both a kind of delight and fear as they began to close in on their targets. _“I’ll have your back this time…assistant!”_


	4. Chapter 4

As they got closer to the bandits raiding the trade caravan, Cassandra both felt and heard Varian take a huge inhale through his nose and mouth. Rumblings and hissings both began to vibrate through his gut as he readied the fire in his belly for an attack as they drew even closer.

  
“Now!” Cass signaled, and Varian opened up his maw, a bright blue streak of flame shooting down at the unsuspecting masked thieves. Of course, Varian didn’t want to actually set anyone aflame, so he targeted his fire carefully so as to send it like a warning shot between the bandits and the trade carts lined up down the middle of the path. Both bandits and tradesmen cried out in shock as the jets of bluebell flames poured down from above, their surprised and then frightened faces turning up to see the winged reptile from whom it came. (Originally, Cass and the others did all that they could to keep Varian from being noticed by other travelers and townsfolk on their journey, but this was an emergency, and there was no time to be discreet.)

  
“I got these guys!” Cass called to Varian from his back, aligning several arrows at one time onto her bow string, then letting them fly at just the right moment to pin several of the criminals to the nearby trees by their hoods.

  
_“Ha!”_ Varian let off a dragonish crow of delight. _“See how they like that!”_

  
But Varian and Cass had no time to celebrate, for by now the bandit archers had collected themselves, and now had their glinting arrow tips pointed upward at the exposed belly of the dragon above them.

  
“Watch out!” Cass yelled, and clung to her saddle tightly as Varian rolled over in midair, the arrows of the enemy archers just missing the both of them my mere inches. Both Cass and Varian retaliated the attack – Cass with her own arrows, and Varian with another stream of flame from his wide-open mouth.

  
Cass was glad that Varian was so competent in handling his dragon’s fire. Given his past, it wouldn’t have surprised her if he had set multiple things on fire most every day by this point in their journey. But it also seemed that in becoming a dragon, Varian had taken caution to the up-teenth degree, and had used his fire sparingly, but with extreme accuracy whenever he dared use it. It seemed that his discipline was now paying off, as with almost surgical precision Varian continued to break up the fight below them, and Cass warded the bandits off with her own hale-storm of arrows.

  
“Take them down!” Cass and Varian could hear the men shout below them.

  
“Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!”

  
“Get the girl!”

  
“Archers, shoot at the- Ah!”

  
Cass quickly looked to see Owl attacking the face of one of the bandit leaders, the man flailing his arms about as the tawny bird swiped at the air right in front of his eyes, Owl dodging the man’s blows with the grace that only a bird of prey could pull off. Cass couldn’t help but give a small smirk, proud of how her little avian friend was employing his training.

  
“Gah!”

  
Suddenly, Varian had rolled again in midair, dodging another flurry of arrows, though Cass had been unready this time, and had found herself lifting out of the saddle, barely managing to hang on by one hand as her bow fell spinning down below her.

  
_“Oh no, Cass!”_ Varian cried, quickly righting himself and gently circling around, realizing that given his current speed and their current situation, there was no way for her to climb back up quickly enough. _“Hang on, I’ll-I’ll let you down!”_

  
Again, Cass couldn’t understand Varian’s words, but his actions and signals were enough for her to get the point. Adjusting her grip, Cass gave Varian an affirmative nod, and as they swooped back around, Varian flew fast and low over the crowd below, with Cass timing her dismount just right so as to land square on one of the bandits attempting to escape with one of the trade cart’s horses.

  
Picking herself back up – the bandit she had landed on lying unconscious at her feet – Cass drew her sword, and immediately began taking on the villains in hand-to-hand combat, most of them not knowing what hit them until it was too late to retaliate Cass’s attacks. By now, some of the tradesmen seemed to understand Cass’s intention to help, and began joining her in the fray, with Varian and Owl continuing to provide aerial support as the bandits began to retreat, far too confused and scattered to think of regrouping now.

  
“Yeah, that’s right you scoundrels, run!” one of the tradesmen shouted at the bandits’ retreating backs.

  
“And don’t come back!” a lady merchant yelled, sending a throwing knife just shy of hitting one of the bandits in the shoulder, and instead landing smartly into a tree trunk a few yards away.

  
Cass chased the last few off with the flat of her sword, and this done, sheathed her blade as she turned to face the group of merchants, now beginning to cluster around her in wide-eyed wonder, Owl landing obediently on the wrist she held out to him, and Varian landing with a heavy but balanced thud behind her. The closest of the merchants shrunk back in fear as Varian landed on the ground, but Cass raised a reassuring hand.

  
“It’s ok everyone,” she said calmly. “He’s a friend, and you’re all safe now.”

  
“ _A friend_!?” Varian thought, freezing for a second with first shock and then delight, trying hard to keep a surprised sound from escaping his throat. _Did Cass really just call him a friend!?_

  
Cass also seemed to suddenly realize her words, giving Varian a quick, awkward glance over her shoulder before clearing her throat, moving things along hurriedly before she could think about it all too much. “Ahem, sorry if we frightened you all, but we figured you needed our help. Is everyone ok? Anyone hurt?”

  
“I…I think we’re all fine Miss,” said one of the merchants in a panting, friendly tone, whom Varian took to be the leader. “Thanks to you and your…um, your dragon, yes?”

  
“Y-yeah, he’s a dragon,” Cass answered with a slight stammer, trying hard to not look at Varian. “Though, he’s not mine.”

  
“Oh, is that so now?” the man asked…Varian suddenly not sure if he liked the man’s tone…or the way he began to look at him.

  
“Yeah,” Cass continued…also starting to feel oddly apprehensive, though not quite sure why. “Well, if everyone’s all right, then we’ll leave you to your travels then-”

  
“Oh, but wait!” another lady merchant chimed in. “We surely must give you something for aiding us in our time of need. Right lads?” A hearty cheer of agreement went of from the crowd around them…but Cass, Varian, and Owl exchanged glances between each other, all of them feeling that something was off…but not sure of exactly what.

  
“Oh, that’s not really necessary,” Cass finally replied with a feigned smile, moving to get back onto Varian’s back and reunite with the others as soon as possible. “Thank you, but we were just doing our duty. And now if you’ll excuse us-”

  
“Oh but please Miss!” the leader interjected eagerly. “Please! You would do dishonor to us, and our clan, if you did not accept our thanks for your gallantry just now! Please, allow us to at least give you a token of our gratitude before we part ways! It’s the least we could do for you.”

  
Cass paused, one foot in the stirrup as she looked again at Varian, both of them uncertain. Cass thought hard, lowering her foot back down to the ground. Something still felt off…but what was it? She looked back at the crowd of merchants. They seemed harmless enough. By now none of them had any of their weapons drawn, and she, Varian, and Owl did just save them from a bandits’ raid. Perhaps they were only looking to express their gratitude, despite their curious nature.

  
Finally, Cass gave a formal nod. “Ok,” she said. “But make it quick. We have to get going.”

  
“But of course!” the man replied cheerfully, signaling to several of the other merchants over his shoulder, who began opening the side door of one of the trade carts.

  
Then-

  
_“NO! WATCH OUT VARIAN!”_

  
Both Varian and Owl started, their heads pricking up at the sound of someone calling Varian’s name from somewhere nearby. But who!? It wasn’t a voice Varian recognized. Was he hearing things?

  
Noticing his movements, Cass gave him a quizzical look over her shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong Varian? Are the bandits-?”

  
_“IT’S A TRAP!”_

  
Before Cass knew what was happening, Varian had suddenly shoved himself into her, both of them crashing to the ground as a flurry of crossbow bolts were launched from between the opening doors of the trade cart, several of them embedding themselves in the tree that had been directly behind where Cass had stood only milliseconds before.

  
“Whoa, what the-!” Cass cried out, immediately drawing her sword again as Varian remained hovering over her protectively. “It’s an ambush! Why you-!”

  
“I wouldn’t make another move if I were either of you!” the leader barked at Cass and Varian from where they knelt on the ground, one of Varian’s wings remaining between Cass and the crowd of now hostile poachers, the black membrane quivering slightly in fear…and in pain, as several crossbow bolts were seen protruding through it to the inside.

  
Cass gasped at the wounds, giving Varian a quick look of bewilderment as his icy-blue eyes met hers, his countenance clearly pained and scared.   
_“They’ll pay for that!”_ Cass thought with clenched teeth, and she and Varian waited tensely for what would happen to them next.

* * *

Meanwhile, Owl had taken off from Cassandra’s wrist right as Varian had knocked her out of the way, Owl also managing to avoid the worst of the surprise attack. Quickly, the swift little bird got himself out of range of the archers in the trade cart, and quickly made to fly back to Rapunzel and the others. If Cassandra and Varian were to stand a chance now, they were going to need backup, and _fast_!

* * *

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, dragon!” the leader snapped at Varian, having noticed the dragon begin to charge up another fire blast as the crossbowmen began to exit the trade cart and form a perimeter around Varian and Cass…and – to Varian and Cass’s even further astonishment – were joined by some of the bandits who had reemerged from the foliage nearby. It had all been a setup! (And now explained why the merchants had just kept on missing them with their own arrows and throwing knives.) Varian let off a warning growl, warning them to not get too close. He began to charge up a fire blast again.

  
_“PLEASE VARIAN, DON’T! THEY’LL HURT YOU!”_

  
_That voice again!_ It had to be coming from somewhere in the crowd, Varian was almost sure of it. But who was it!? Varian stopped charging up his fire, listening hard.

  
“Ah, so it’s true,” the leader said, clearly amused by Varian’s reaction to the voice. “You _can_ understand the speech of other creatures when in that form!”

  
“When in that-…what are you talking about!?” Cass asked angrily from where she knelt on the ground, holding her sword at the ready in front of her, beginning to be worried about just how much these merchants seemed to know about Varian, given the leader’s statement.

  
“Oh, but of course!” the main said, face-palming himself in a clearly exaggerated manner. “Where are my manners? I take it you would want to see your old friend again, yes?”

  
With a snap of his fingers, the leader signaled for a small wooden cage to be brought forward, a small tarp covering it. As his assistant brought the cage to his side, the leader pulled the tarp away with a flourish.

  
Varian could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the little creature that lay curled in a frightened, fluffy ball inside of the cage.

  
_“RUDDIGER!”_ Varian cried out in alarm, disbelief, and even the smallest trace of delight at seeing the little friend he had missed O so much!

  
_“Varian!”_ Ruddiger called back, grasping the bars of his cage with his small black forepaws, a tone of both tension and relief also present in his voice.

  
_His_ voice! So _that_ was who had been calling to him this whole time! Oh the brave little creature! He had tried to warn them!

  
_“Oh Ruddiger!”_ Varian breathed. _“I-I was so worried about you! You’re not hurt are you? I’m so sorry! I should’ve listened to you! You tried to stop me, and-and I never should’ve left you behind! But I just…I couldn’t-”_

  
_“It’s ok Varian,”_ Ruddiger interrupted gently, his chubby raccoon cheeks pressed against the bars of his cage, trying to get as close as he could to his master. _“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you. I’ve missed you!”_

  
Varian let out a small, dragonish chortle at this, hardly believing he was hearing his best friend talk to him in his own voice like this. _“I missed you too buddy-”_

  
“Alright, that’s enough,” the leader finally interjected, covering up Ruddiger’s cage again with the tarp, not even so much as flinching at Ruddiger and Varian’s growls and hissing of protestation, the crossbowmen raising their weapons in response. Meanwhile, Cass watched dumbstruck at the exchange that had gone on between the two animals, her mind struggling to recall seeing Varian so happy in his dragon form as he was in that moment when he got to exchange a few words with his most loyal friend.

  
But wait, that was a thought…how did these guys know-?

  
“It was you!” Cass hissed at them under her breath, all eyes now turning to her. True, Cass had little to no idea of exactly _how_ Varian became a dragon in the first place, but this much was now made plain to her by the fact of them having Ruddiger in the first place, and knowing to bring him out for Varian specifically to see. “ _You_ did this to Varian, didn’t you!?”

  
There was a moment’s stunned silence that followed, Varian also feeling his blood run cold at Cass’s words, the pieces beginning to come together in his mind, too. Then, the leader chuckled and grinned wickedly at Cass. “Oh, hardly my dear,” the man began as he dared to take a few steps closer to the two of them. “He did it all himself! We just…shall we say, gave him the means to do it.”

  
Cassandra gave Varian a quick glance, noting the horrified (and ashamed) expression in his eyes as the man’s words began to sink in. Cass still wasn’t entirely sure what the leader was going on about, but the likely the answer had to do with one thing.

  
_Alchemy._

  
“And who is this _we_ that you speak of?” Cass continued to question, partially to try to satisfy her own curiosity…and to stall for time as Owl had fled to go get help.

  
“Why, haven’t you guessed?” the man asked with a smirk. “My dear, we are among the Separatists of Sapora!”

  
At the mentioning of their faction’s name, the crowd around them let out a cheer and displayed a quick salute, before falling quiet again.

  
“Oh, _you_ guys again,” Cassandra mocked, both trying to give an air of courage and continuing to attempt to stall them. “I knew you all were idiots and madmen, but doing _this_ to a child?” Cass hissed, gesturing to Varian’s dragon form (him growling, _“I’m not a child,”_ in response, though of course Cass didn’t understand him). “That’s a whole new level of low, even for you lot.”

  
“Oh, but I just told you my dear,” the man continued arrogantly. “ _We_ did not turn your friend into this great beast. He did that himself. Of his own free will. We just gave him the crushed dragon scales needed to carry it out.”

  
“But why?” Cass inquired, doing all she could to not look at Varian’s stricken (and increasingly angry) face. “Why _him_? And what use do the Separatists have for a dragon?”

  
“Ha!” the man guffawed at Cass’s questions. “What _use? What use!?_ Did you _honestly_ ask that question!? Just look around you! If it weren’t for your dragon, there’s no way you could’ve taken on these dozens of operatives all on your own. The creature is practically a one-man army all on its own! Who wouldn’t want such a weapon at their disposal?”

  
“But why _Varian_!?” Cass shouted back, struggling to control her temper now. “His offenses are against the kingdom of Corona, not you. What harm has he ever done you that you should instigate such a thing against him!?”

  
“Precisely m’lady!” the man stated, his eyes glancing wickedly at Varian’s own. “The boy never did any harm to us, true. In fact, quite the contrary. He showed us one very important thing – that it was indeed possible to defeat the kingdom of Corona!”

  
Another cheer rang up from the crowd around them, Cass shaking her head in disbelief. These guys really were all idiots!

  
“Hey, meathead!” Cass called to the leader again over the din of the crowd. “What the heck do you mean ‘defeating the kingdom of Corona’? Varian was…” here Cass paused, cringing hard, making every effort to not look at Varian’s face before forcing herself to finish her thought. “…Varian was defeated that day, in case you didn’t know.”

  
“Oh, we know about that,” the man continued with a dismissive wave of his hand, Varian’s eyes narrowing hard, not liking at all at being reminded of his past blunders, nor where this next chapter in his life seemed to be heading. “But never in the history of all our years had anyone ever gotten so _close_! Perhaps he did not succeed, but he did show it was _possible_. And that was all the motivation we needed!”

  
“Oh, motivation to do _what_?” Cass asked angrily. “Turn a 14 year-old boy you don’t even know into a _dragon_!? That doesn’t make any sense!”

  
“It does,” the man said with a horrid smile, “when you take into account that he was one of the few minds within hundreds of miles who could even read such a formula as the transfiguration elixir.”

  
Cass’s eyes went wide. So it _had_ been alchemy after all. Cass finally dared to look at Varian’s face…though finding his expression hard to read as he listened intently to the troupe’s leader, Cass finding an inadvertent shiver pass through her as she saw the look in his eyes.

  
He wasn’t seriously thinking-!

  
“Yes, dragon!” the man continued, now addressing Varian directly. “You see? We never meant you any harm. We just gave you the means by which to exact revenge on those who wronged you! And to offer our services as your allies as well, of course. We can take them all down _together_! Form a _new_ kingdom! One where the royals do not betray their subjects over petty matters.”

  
Murmurs of affirmation when up among the group around them…Varian’s eyes softening in response.

  
“Varian, no, don’t listen-!” Cass tried to caution, feeling a familiar, horrible feeling begin to rise in her gut at the thought of yet another betrayal from the boy, but she was interrupted as the leader went on.

  
“What have these lackies ever done for you that you should serve _them_?” the leader questioned, gesturing to Cassandra. Varian nearly followed the motion with his eyes, but refrained from looking Cassandra in the face as he continued to listen. “I must say dragon, it wasn’t very logical of you to have sought _them_ out after your liberation from that tower. What prisoner runs back to their jailors, hm? Though, to be fair, I’m sure you were plenty shocked by what happened to you, and our operatives in the capital _did_ so struggle to track you after you had flown off. But now, here we are! We have found you, and are ready to admit you as one of our own, brother!”

  
Another wave of approved noises made its way through the crowd, Cassandra beginning to feel desperate, unsure of where this was all going to end up. Varian still refused to look directly at her, instead setting his eyes to a small patch of earth a few yards away, clearly thinking hard.

  
_“No…”_ Cass thought in alarm, shaking her head in hurt and disbelief. No! _Was he seriously thinking about joining them!?_ After all that happened!? Was he really that bent on revenge that he would join this rebel group to destroy Corona!?

  
Varian made a few muttering noises under his breath, like one nattering to themselves over a decision, the noise casual, and barely loud and high enough to be heard by the human ear.

  
_“Wait…that’s it!”_

  
At that, Cass did all she could to hide her relief, knowing to be ready any moment to once again fight for their lives.

  
_They_ were getting close!

* * *

“Oh hurry Max!” Rapunzel whispered urgently to the stallion as he galloped as fast as he could down the pathway Owl was leading them on. Of course, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance had seen Varian and Cass dive downward out of the sky as they had gone to the aid of the caravan, and feeling something to be wrong, had begun to make their way in that direction. On the way, Owl had intercepted them, signaling them to follow him carefully. It was quickly agreed that Rapunzel and Eugene would go ahead first on Max, with Lance coming up on foot. Max was a strong horse, but he would get along faster with just two to carry, and if anything should go wrong for them, Lance would still be available to provide backup. Plus out of the three of them, Lance was the fastest on his own. It would only take him a few minutes to catch up with them.

  
As they began to draw closer, Rapunzel and Eugene began to near shouts coming from up ahead, Cass’s being one of the voices they could hear. Quickly coming to a halt, Maximus lowered himself carefully to the ground, Rapunzel and Eugene dismounting, and then the three made their way cautiously forward, Owl keeping watch overhead.

  
As they drew nearer, Rapunzel could hear a man’s voice going on and on about some sort of liberation from a tower, the ‘capital’, and admitting someone as a new ‘brother’ into some sort of society. As she and the others came up to a line of shrubbery overlooking the scene, Rapunzel had to struggle to withhold a gasp at the sight that greeted them. Varian and Cass were surrounded by dozens of people – most of them men, but some women in the crowd too – and many of them aiming their bows and crossbows at them.

  
“Why haven’t they flown away!?” Rapunzel whispered urgently to Eugene, who subtly pointed at one of Varian’s wings in response. Rapunzel cringed hard at the sight of several crossbow bolts having embedded themselves into the delicate black membrane.

  
“What do we do?” Rapunzel whispered anxiously, not sure if the three of them would be able to take on the force that stood before them, even with a frying pan in hand.

  
“I don’t know-” Eugene began to say, but then stopped short as something caught his eye. Or rather, the lack of something caught his eye.  
“Where’s Pascal?” Eugene asked Rapunzel, having noticed the little reptile’s absence from her shoulder.

  
“What?” Rapunzel asked in alarm, nearly beginning to turn frantic as the little lizard was nowhere to be seen, and having to fight the urge to call his name out of habit.

  
But before Rapunzel could get too frightened, Maximus gave her a soft, reassuring chuff from behind, gesturing for the two humans to watch the crowd down below.

* * *

_“Are the rest of them here?”_ Varian asked Pascal, who had revealed just enough of himself outside of his camouflage for Varian to have spotted him underneath one of the carts.

  
_“Almost,”_ Pascal replied. _“Lance is still on his way, but everyone else is here.”_

  
_“Good,”_ Varian replied, though his tone far from relieved or cheerful. _“Ruddiger, once you’re free, I need you to get out of the way as fast as you can, alright?”_

  
_“Aye,”_ Ruddiger replied quietly from under the tarp. He didn’t want to ruin the animals’ plans by letting on that he and Varian were actually communicating with one another.

  
_“Pascal, tell Maximus to begin the charge on my signal.”_

  
Pascal gave a quick salute, before vanishing again, scurrying as fast as he could back up to where Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus awaited him.

  
“Well!?” the man finally asked Varian harshly, Varian feigning the action of snapping out of deep thought. “What do you say dragon? Will you join us?”

  
Varian looked down at Cass, dreading the idea of making her think that yet again he was going to be betraying her like this. But she would forgive him surely? After the plan was successfully carried out? He wished he could tell her what his intentions really were, but he had to keep up the ruse, just a little while longer. It had to look real.

  
“Varian…!” Cass seemed to begin to say, Varian nearly cringing at her pleading tone. That wasn’t like her, and Varian hated to think that anything he was going to do would make her-

  
Then, a small glint of purple caught his eyes, Cass’s fingers toying with something she had tucked away in one of the pouches at her waist.  
It was the piece of Cassandrium Varian had given her! _She had kept it all that time!!_

  
Varian’s eyes became surprised as they saw it. He thought for sure she must’ve thrown that trinket away after everything that happened, or else tucked it away somewhere and forgot about it. But there it was!

  
But, why would she now be-

  
_Oh!_

  
_“I know you have a plan!”_ she seemed to be saying through the gesture, despite her face hiding the fact (and hiding it very well). _“Let’s do this together, like that one time!”_

  
With that, Varian put his plan into action.

* * *

It was all the Maximus and Pascal could do to make sure Eugene and Rapunzel didn’t leap out to come to Cassandra’s aid and blow their cover as it began.

  
“No, Cass!” Rapunzel couldn’t help but gasp in shock as Varian suddenly turned on her, sending the warrior maiden rolling across the ground as his tail swung round and hit her. As she rolled to a stop, Cass clutched at her side, glaring daggers back at Varian as she made to rise, and Varian hissed his challenge at her, his one good wing spread high above his head as a display of aggression.

  
“Oooooh, would you look at this lads!” the leader suddenly shouted, a cheer beginning to rise up from the crowd. “Looks like our new brother wants to show us his stuff! Get his first taste of sweet revenge!”

  
“Out of the way Max!” Eugene growled angrily and with bewilderment as Max barred his way forward, though by now the commotion of the crowd was too loud for his voice to have been heard by them, and all eyes were on the battle presently being waged before them. “What’s wrong with you!? We have to get in there and help Cass before Varian-!”

  
“Wait!” Rapunzel suddenly cried, dragging Eugene back down behind the brush with her. “Eugene, Cass _isn’t_ hurt!”

  
“What!?” Eugene asked, wondering what in the world could’ve given Rapunzel that idea as Cass and Varian circled each other, the warrior maiden showing a slight limp as she moved. Eugene knew that Rapunzel had wanted desperately to believe the best in Varian, but this was going too far now!

  
“Look, Blondie, I know how this must be for you to see, but Cass clearly-!”

  
“No, Eugene, I’m serious!” Rapunzel interrupted. “She’s not hurt! Look! See what she’s doing?”

  
Eugene looked, not understanding what Rapunzel was getting at…until Cass switched directions in circling, her limp shifting to the other leg.

  
_She was faking her injury!_

  
“But, why-?” Eugene began to ask, but fell back into a frightened silence as the two went at each other again, Varian’s jaws snapping at Cass as she dodged out of the way, her blade swinging through the air mere inches away from his head, making him leap back. If one hadn’t thought to look for it, they wouldn’t have realized how fake the combat between these two actually was. In all honesty, Varian was nearly doing his best trying to land a hit on Cass (he had to make it look real), but he knew she was far too skilled for him to accomplish this. It would be Cass then who would see to it that the battle looked real, while also doing it in a such a way where Varian wouldn’t be the one getting hurt.

  
“They’re both faking it!” Rapunzel whispered in astonished realization.

  
“But…why?” Eugene asked, he too now noticing the subtleties of fighting style that betrayed each combatant’s lack of aiming to hurt the other.  
In answer to his question, Eugene felt Pascal give his sleeve a small tug with his tail, then pointing with his to where Owl had silently swooped towards the back of the crowd, his talons pulling hard at the pale tarp covering what appeared to be a small box.

  
“What is-?” Eugene began to ask, and then he and Rapunzel’s eyes widened as the tarp fell away, and they could see the small raccoon huddled inside.

  
“That’s Ruddiger!” Rapunzel exclaimed under her breath. “But… _why_? What’s going on?”

  
“I’m not sure Blondie,” Eugene whispered back. “But I get the feeling Varian isn’t so friendly with these guys as they suppose themselves.”

* * *

To be sure, from the moment Varian had seen Ruddiger locked up in that cage, the Separatists had lost any chances of gaining support from him. They had attempted to use the little creature as a bargaining chip, and Varian wouldn’t stand for that. Not anymore. And if they had thought that their explanations would make up for the fact that they had tricked him into becoming their “living weapon”, they would find themselves sorely mistaken.

  
As Varian and Cass dodged and lunged around each other in mimic battle, Varian kept his ears open for Ruddiger’s signal that he was free and clear of the battlefield. Owl worked quickly, sliding the tarp off Rudiger’s cage silently, and the little raccoon carefully grabbing at the keys that hung around the belt of the man standing right in front of him. As his hand-like paws closed around the clinking metal, Ruddiger carefully pulled them towards him, Owl helping him insert the keys one-by-one into the lock, waiting for the right one to click it open.

  
Finally, they both found the right key, and without a moment’s hesitation Ruddiger burst out from the cage, just missing being caught by the tail by the man who was supposed to keep watch over him.

  
“HEY! STOP!” the man called out as his flailing arms attempted to grab Ruddiger, the handful of people around him turning to see what he was shouting about, but the rest took no notice. As several others attempted to grab at the creature, Ruddiger dodged his way up and down and under and over the arms and hands that tried to grab him. At least, he broke free, and ran as fast as he could up to where Eugene and Rapunzel were waiting with Max and Pascal.

  
_“NOW!”_ Ruddiger shouted down to Varian, who at his call, raised his one good wing again after he and Cass were in place.

  
_“That’s our cue!”_ Max said, signaling for the others to follow him in the charge as he let out a horse’s battle cry, charging down the slope as the others followed suit.

  
The crowd clearly had not expected a surprise attack, and confusion ensued as one moment they turned to meet attackers coming from behind them, and then as streams of blue fire suddenly spewed from behind, setting their trade carts – and the weaponry and contraband inside of them – on fire in a matter of seconds. Cass darted in among the flames, cutting the few horses still hooked up to them free with a few swift strokes of her sword, and Eugene also leaping in to help. Meanwhile, with the use of her hair and trusty frying pan, Rapunzel held off the first few separatists who began joining the fray, Owl and Varian then aiming their attacks at the archers, whose arrows began flying left and right.

  
“WHY YOU TRAITOR!” the leader shouted at Varian, lunging at the dragon with his own sword, Varian just barely managing to dodge him, and sending out more flames from his wide open mouth. But the leader was too quick for him, rolling out of the way before the flames could do him any damage, and leaping up into the air as he prepared to bring his sword crashing down on Varian’s exposed neck.

  
“VARIAN!” Varian heard Rapunzel call out his name in fright, but it was all happening too quickly, and no one was near enough to help him. Varian shut his eyes in terror.

  
“Aaargghh!”

  
Suddenly, instead of the sound of a sword crunching through dragon’s hide, the sound of steel on steel sounded above Varian’s head. His eyes snapping open, Varian saw the leader get thrust down to the ground like a ragdoll, and Lance standing protectively at his side, his own sword drawn.

  
“Don’t forget about me now!” the former rogue shouted at the leader, again lunging forward to engage him in combat after exchanging a quick nod with Varian.

  
“Hey, nice to see you finally decided to show up!” Eugene called to Lance from where he was taking out a big man with a club.

  
“Excuse you!” Lance taunted back, now exchanging blows with the leader, whose scarlet face showed him to be beyond furious at the turn of events. “I just happen to be fashionably late, thank you very much!”

  
“WHY YOU MEDDLING-!” the leader attempted to shout, but was interrupted by a well-timed blow from Lance, leaving the man winded on the ground, and Lance’s blade at his throat.

  
“I’d call off your men if I were you!” Lance hissed at him, the tip of his sword coming a few centimeters closer. The leader looked around him, noting how many of his crew had already retreated in terror, and the rest of them struggling to hold their ground as blows continued to be exchanged and the fires continued to blaze.

  
“A-ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” the leader finally shouted, feeling the edge of Lance’s blade make light contact with his skin. “YOU WIN! WE SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the final chapter of this mini-saga! Hope you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> Sorry to leave it with a sort of open-ended ending, but kind of like how Eustace’s adventure as a dragon lasted for only a portion of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", so Varian’s adventure as a dragon is meant to be just a portion of a larger story, too. I’m not really planning on writing other chapters to expand on it (as this whole fan fic was mostly for the sake of exploring the idea of Varian being a dragon), but basically I would imagine it that Varian would continue on adventuring with Rapunzel and Co., and find even more great adventures on the way. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter!
> 
> Portions of this chapter were also inspired by some excerpts from "The Silver Chair" and "Perelandra", also by C. S. Lewis.

About an hour after their battle, Varian lay still on the ground as Rapunzel and Eugene worked to remove the crossbow bolts from his injured wing. Ruddiger sat at his head, his little paws stroking in small circles across Varian’s face in comfort as Varian winced and let out small whines of pain as Eugene worked to cut through the bolts with his knife, gently pulling out what remained, and Rapunzel bandaging the openings to the best of her ability. Despite their earlier victory, the atmosphere was mixed with both triumph and solemnity as the gang found themselves hunkering down in a small cave for the rest of that day, beginning to wonder what they were to do next after all that happened that day.

  
Seeing as how they hadn’t actually been in Corona itself when they had defeated the troupe of separatists, Rapunzel and the others didn’t have the authority of state, nor any means at their disposal by which to actually arrest them, so they were forced to let the remaining men go afterwards. (The most they would be able to do was report the whole incident to those in the next closest village, wherever that was, and let the authorities of the land deal with it themselves.) Though before releasing the leader to join his followers, Cassandra demanded that he give them the antidote for Varian’s transformation.

  
“Th-there is no antidote!” the leader had replied, eyes darting between the tip of Cass’s sword and Varian’s bared teeth. He flinched hard went Varian roared at him in reply to this statement, the dragon’s hot breath smiting his face. “N-none that we’re aware of! There was none listed with the elixir in the old tomes! I swear! P-please! Please! We’re sorry! We’re really sorry! Just don’t hurt me!”

  
Varian found the leader’s begging pitiful, didn’t want to believe his words at all, and had half a mind to (literally) bite the man’s head off as payback for what he and the other separatists did to him. …But by this point, revenge plots held little appeal for Varian…and while he also didn’t like the idea of having to let these scoundrels go, he also couldn’t bring himself to inflict any further harm on them. Despite how it made him feel, he knew striking down their leader like this would not be done in justice, but instead would be an act of rage and cowardice, and wouldn’t get them any closer to any real solution either.

  
He knew from past experience, after all. He didn’t want a repeat of that ever again…

  
With their own great reluctance, the group watched as the separatists disappeared over the hills. Making absolutely sure they weren’t being followed in retaliation, they then made their way to find shelter where they could tend to Varian’s wounds properly, could regroup, and rest for the night.

  
While a few cheerful jests were made in celebration of their victory that morning as they walked along, it also felt like a rather hollow victory, as the leader’s assertion that there was no antidote for the transfiguration elixir now sat at the back of everyone’s minds. Everyone tried to reassure Varian that surely the man must’ve been mistaken, and that they would find a cure for him soon enough somewhere. But of course no one had any idea of where to begin to find such an antidote, and it was clear that those who had the original formula for the elixir didn’t even know of any themselves.

  
_What were they to do now?…_

  
“There we go, last one!” Eugene finally said, having removed the last of the crossbow bolts from Varian’s wing, giving the dragon a gentle pat on the shoulder as he rose to dispose of the pieces. “You did great kid,” Eugene said, offering Varian a look of pride and sympathy before he turned away, Varian giving a small nod of acknowledgement before lowering his head again. He felt so very tired after everything.

  
Rapunzel continued to bind his wounds, her hands dexterous and gentle as she worked, and Varian letting out little hums of relief at the soothing feeling of having his injuries cleaned and dressed. It was at about this point though that Varian noticed the princess had gone uncharacteristically silent since she and Eugene had begun tending to his injuries, and now, as she finished covering the last opening in the membrane of his wing, she stroked across the bandages with a light touch, her mind clearly pensive.

  
“…Hey, Varian?” Rapunzel finally asked meekly, Varian’s eyes meeting hers questioningly.

  
Rapunzel bit her lip hard before finally saying, “I…I know when I tried healing you before – way back when I mean – it didn’t work, but…” Rapunzel swallowed, clearly very nervous. “Will-will you allow me to try again? …Please?”

  
Varian blinked up at her, surprised by her request. He remembered that day many months ago – the day he and Rapunzel first met – when she had attempted to heal the small gash he had gotten on the back of his head after his clumsiness with his magnification apparatus. He remembered how awkward he had felt, sitting there with her hair clustered around his head, and the princess clearly attempting to conjure up some sort of magic within her through singing the mysterious incantation. Varian had thought her a bit crazy then, of course not believing in magic himself at the time.

  
But now, with everything that had happened…perhaps it was worth another try.

  
After thinking it over a moment, Varian gave her a nod in the affirmative, and Rapunzel – looking oddly tense – proceeded to spread her long, golden locks over Varian’s injured wing. Then she stopped…and proceeded to cover almost his entire form with it. Varian looked up at her, very much puzzled.

  
“Um…just in case…” was all Rapunzel said, but then Varian understood what she meant, his eyes widening, and his heart beginning to beat hard in anticipation.

  
_She was going to try to change him back!_

  
_“Oh please,_ please _!”_ Varian found himself praying, finding his heart grasping unbidden at this smallest glimmers of hope that had arisen there. _“Let this work!”_

  
By now, the others had noticed what was afoot, and soon all eyes had turned to Rapunzel as she finished draping her hair across Varian’s ridged back. Then, her eyes closing in concentration, Rapunzel began to sing.

  
“Flower gleam and glow  
Let your power shine  
Make the clock reverse  
Bring back what once was mine…”

  
Everyone waited with baited breath as Rapunzel’s voice rang in the air around them, Varian hardly daring to move as he waited for some change to occur in his injuries and (O so he hoped!) in his dragon’s form.

  
“Heal what has been hurt  
Change the fate’s design  
Save what has been lost  
Bring back what once was mine  
What once was mine…”

  
As the last note of the song ceased to vibrate, Rapunzel paused, hardly daring to open her eyes, dreading the idea that the spell failed to work once again. Finally, she did so…only to find Varian still lying before her as a dragon, and his wing still clearly paining him as he attempted to move it.

  
_“Well…”_ Varian couldn’t help but sigh aloud, even though he knew only the animals present would understand him, but hoping his tone would convey what he meant anyway to the princess. _“Thanks for trying anyway, Rapunzel.”_

  
“…I’m sorry,” Rapunzel then said very softly. Varian stopped, his expression becoming nearly alarmed as Rapunzel’s voice suddenly broke, a sharp sniff coming from her as she brought her hands up to her face. _She was crying!_

  
“I’m so sorry Varian!” she cried, Eugene immediately going to her side as she continued to weep, his arms enveloping her tenderly. “Y-you keep getting hurt, and I…I _can’t_ help you!”

  
_[“I can’t help you!”]_

  
In a flare of memory, Varian remembered the last time he had heard Rapunzel say those same words, and Varian flinched at it. It had been during that terrible day, when she had rejected his pleas for help to save his father. But now, while the words themselves did not change, something about their meaning seemed to shift in Varian’s psyche as he heard the princess cry them out again just now.

  
I _can’t_ help you!

  
…Varian finally understood.

  
Of course, a part of him knew it all along, but finally he was able to acknowledge it. Rapunzel’s actions – both in times back then, and especially now – showed how desperately she had wanted to help the young alchemist this whole time…but how lack of ability and/or circumstance had prevented her from doing so. It hadn’t been within her power, both figuratively and literally. And, to Varian’s astonishment, this seemed to have stuck with her all this time…and it was tearing her up.

  
Had she been the perfect friend? No, certainly not. There were perhaps things Rapunzel could’ve done differently in all that had happened. But there was a lot Varian himself could’ve done differently, too. Neither of them was blameless in all that happened. It certainly wasn’t all ok or all fixed with that fact…but at least there was some acknowledgement of it…finally.

  
If Varian had been his old self, he probably would’ve felt a kind of sticky-sweet satisfaction at now seeing Rapunzel’s own pain and remorse at not being able to help him; seeing her finally feel pain akin to what he’d felt all this time. …But Varian was not his old self. And before he could even think twice about it, Varian found himself turning to place his scaly head on Rapunzel’s lap, just like when they had first found him as a dragon.

  
Rapunzel started, at first confused by his gesture. But then, she understood. There was one way she was able to help him, and Varian was acknowledging that to her now. After only a moment’s hesitation, Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Varian’s neck again, mopping up with her skirts the tears that Varian had now begun to shed as well, while also allowing her own to fall with his. At the very least, this help she (and the others) could offer him, as everyone then came together in a large embrace with each other around the princess and the dragon.

  
She could _mourn_ with him for the life he had lost…

* * *

Hours later, Ruddiger found himself waking up to the feeling of a cold breeze at his back. For a moment, the little creature was confused, looking about him with bleary eyes, dimly aware that something was amiss. Then, he was looking about himself frantically, wondering where the warm presence of Varian had gone. The two of them had settled down together for the night, but now Varian was suddenly gone!

  
In a near panic, Ruddiger’s eyes scanned the cave around him, squinting hard in the full darkness of a moonless night, but none of the other sleeping forms that he saw were his beloved master. Quickly – but careful not to disturb the others – Ruddiger darted to the cave’s entrance, his eyes, ears, and nose all working to find any sign of Varian in the dark. Perhaps he just stepped out for a breath of fresh air? Or to get a drink of water?

  
But Varian was nowhere in sight, and Lance – who was supposed to be keeping lookout – sat dozing to the side of the entrance, oblivious to any presence that could’ve been nearby.

  
_“Lazy bum!”_ Ruddiger muttered to himself angrily at the sight of the sleeping lookout. Though he couldn’t be entirely angry with the man. Lance must’ve surely been tired like everyone else after all that happened that day, and sleep could be a hard force to fight even on the best of days.  
But no time to think of that now. Ruddiger had to find Varian!

  
Fortunately, Varian’s scent was easily picked out from amongst the other scents of the forest, and soon enough Ruddiger was on his trail. But the trail didn’t go down to the nearby stream, nor to just only a little ways away from the cave. It was a good five or so minutes before Ruddiger finally came within sight of the inky black form plodding away ahead of him, nearly imperceptible against the dark blanket of night that enveloped all around them.

  
_“Varian!”_ Ruddiger called out, partially in alarm and partially in relief. Varian jumped slightly at the sound of the unexpected voice, stopped, and spun around quickly as his raccoon friend came bounding up to him. _“What are you doing out here!?”_ Ruddiger demanded breathlessly. _“Where do you think you’re going?”_

  
Varian was silent for a moment, turning his face away before replying somberly, _“…Away.”_

  
_“Away?”_ Ruddiger inquired, his head cocking to the side in confusion. _“Away from where?”_

  
_“Away from here…from everyone,”_ Varian said, Ruddiger sputtering in reply.

  
_“Away from- What!? Wh-what do you mean by that!?”_

  
Varian fell silent again, Ruddiger almost wondering if Varian were actually sleepwalking or something, and just needed someone to guide him back to camp. But no…no, Varian’s face was very much awake (though his eyes had a distant look about them), and there was no way that a sleepwalking dragon could’ve stalked out of the cave unnoticed like he did.

  
_“Varian,”_ Ruddiger tried again, his voice more firm this time. _“You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”_

  
Varian’s eyes fell fondly on Ruddiger as he said, _“I’m leaving, Rudiger. I have to go.”_

  
_“Go?”_ Ruddiger asked, feeling anxiety begin to sit in his gut like a rock at these words. _“Go where?”_

  
_“I don’t know,”_ Varian shrugged, Ruddiger not very much liking how casually Varian seemed to be taking things. _“I just…I can’t stay with the others any more.”_

  
_“What do you mean!?”_ Ruddiger asked, now alarmed. _“Of course you can stay! No one’s kicked you out or anything! What about earlier today? You all worked together, right? We were a team! And-and everyone’s here for you, remember? They all love you!”_

  
Varian stopped, staring down surprised at Ruddiger’s choice of words. For a moment, Varian looked almost as if something in Ruddiger’s words had really gotten through to him, and Varian made the smallest motion as if to start heading back to camp…but then he stopped, heaving a long sigh as he continued. _“I know Rudy. But don’t you see? I’m a burden to them now. And really, I always have been.”_

  
_“That’s not true!”_ Ruddiger yelped, but Varian seemed to ignore him.

  
_“And anyway, I’m only going to slow them down now. Even if I was able to serve as a scout before, what good am I to them now when I can’t fly? What good is a downed dragon to them? And what if the Separatists of Saporia decide to try coming for me again? Would they really just give up on getting their dragon, just like that? That would just put the others in danger on my account all over again. Don’t you see? However you look at it, I’m just a liability for them now.”_

  
_“That’s not true!”_ Ruddiger cried again. _“And you’ll heal up, right? It’s just going to take time! And anyway, do you really think that everyone wanted you around just because you could fly? Or-or that they wouldn’t want you with them even if the Separatists did try to take you from them again? I think they deserve more credit than that, Varian!”_

  
Varian let out a chuckling huff in response, much to Ruddiger’s bewilderment. _“You’re probably right on that. Goodness knows no one’s had to stick by me at all this whole time. Including you. …Heck, you even chose to be imprisoned with me that day, Ruddiger! And…I never properly thanked you for that…”_

  
_“Varian…”_ Ruddiger breathed, starting to feel helpless as Varian carried on, seeming to be now in a state of numb resignation.

  
_“But I can’t ask everyone to keep on going on like this for me. I have to leave. I can’t burden anyone else like this. It’s the only way.”_

  
Ruddiger bristled. Why did Varian have to be so dramatic and stubborn!? And had he seriously planned on leaving everyone – including Ruddiger himself – after everything they had been through together!? _And with an injured wing!?_

  
Love him as he did, Ruddiger really felt Varian could be quite the idiot sometimes.

  
But there didn’t seem to be any arguing with him when he was like this. Especially when Varian had got it into his head that he was somehow being noble in what he was doing. But if Rudiger couldn’t argue with him – and he certainly couldn’t _force_ the dragon to go back – there was just one thing that he could do.

  
He could be there for him until Varian _did_ want his help.

  
_“Ok, fine,”_ Ruddiger finally said, Varian clearly taken aback by the sudden lack of argument. _“But_ I’m _coming with you!”_

  
_“No Ruddiger!”_ Varian said. _“I can’t ask you to do that. I have to go alone. It wouldn’t be fair. And it wouldn’t safe for you out there either, and-and I-”_

  
_“I’d sooner face danger out there in the wilderness with you as opposed to growing fat and lonely at home,”_ Ruddiger retorted with a huff. _“And anyway, what home would I have to go back to if you weren’t there? You’re stuck with me! I’m coming with you! That’s that!”_

  
Varian opened his mouth to argue again, but paused. Then, the desire to argue quickly vanished, and Varian simply dipped his head in grateful acknowledgement, words failing him as he thought how lucky he was to have this stubborn and loyal critter as his best friend. With a triumphant trill, Ruddiger trotted forward, planting himself firmly on Varian’s back as they turned to continue on their way through the wood in companionable silence.

  
A couple hours later, Varian figured that they had gone far enough so that the others wouldn’t be able to find them when they awoke. Even if they attempted to search for them the next day, Varian and Ruddiger would still steadily make their way northward once they awoke in the morning, eventually forcing Rapunzel and the others to continue following the black rocks without them. Honestly, Varian hated the idea of worrying the others with his sudden absence, but he was convinced he was doing the right thing. Perhaps one day he would find a cure for his dragon form, but until then, he wasn’t going to burden the others with his presence.

  
Still, even in feeling like he was making the right decision, and even with Ruddiger as his companion, Varian couldn’t help but feel the familiar distress of being alone and bereft of human company press in on him once again.

  
This was going to be a very long night…

* * *

As the first traces of dawn began to tinge the early morning skies, Lance suddenly awoke with a small snort, the feeling of little paws treading urgently into his leg rousing him from sleep, and the sounds of quiet chitterings accompanying them from below. After rubbing his eyes – and silently chastising himself for giving in to sleep when he was supposed to be keeping lookout – Lance looked down in surprise at Ruddiger who was sitting at his feet, trying quietly but in earnest to get his attention.

  
“Oh, hey there little guy,” Lance said with a yawn, and bending down to give Rudiger a scratch under the chin in greeting. “What’s up with you little fella?”

  
With another few hurried noises, Ruddiger rushed over to where thick groves of heather grew a ways away, and looked back at Lance over his shoulder. Lance blinked at him a couple of times, his brain still groping through the fogginess of sleep to try to make sense of the little creature’s behavior.

  
“Oh!” Lance finally breathed in realization. “You…you want me to follow you?”

  
Nodding enthusiastically in the affirmative, Ruddiger leapt through the heather as Lance got up to follow him. For a moment though, Lance came to a stop, wondering if he should wake up Eugene or one of the others and let them know what was going on. This all seemed rather suspicious, and it wouldn’t do to leave their encampment unguarded in any event. (Granted, Lance hadn’t exactly been guarding it very well up to that point, but still.)

  
Then, as if in answer to Lance’s thoughts, Maximus began to stir from his place just inside of the cave, and Lance quickly made his way into the heather after Rudiger before the stallion could notice their departure. Something about Rudiger’s manner made Lance think that the little guy didn’t want anyone else to follow them, and while Lance felt a sort of uneasiness about it all, there was no alarm in Ruddiger’s manner either – just a sort of urgency.

  
_“Well, so long as Max is awake,”_ Lance thought to himself, _“the others will be in good hands. …Or hooves. In good hooves, I guess.”_

  
Stepping over roots and weaving his way around thickets, Lance carefully followed the bobbing black and white-striped tail of the critter in front of him, easily spotted in the paling blueness of morning. After they had gone several yards, Lance soon found himself emerging into a small clearing some ways away from the camp where, to his surprise, he found Ruddiger bounding excitedly towards the figure of another person; sitting on a nearby boulder with their knees drawn up towards their chest, and their youthful face turning to meet Lance’s own as he approached.

  
For the second time that morning, Lance found himself stopping, blinking, and rubbing his eyes, not entirely sure if he was seeing things or not. But as he looked again, he knew his eyes did not deceive him. He recognized that face that looked back at him!

  
“Wha-… _Y-you_ -!?” Lance gasped, his voice pitching high in disbelief.

  
“H-hey there, Lance,” Varian said sheepishly, raising an uncertain, gloved hand in greeting as Ruddiger leapt up on the rock to join him, Varian coming to sit cross-legged as the raccoon snuggled his way into the boy’s lap.

  
“Varian!?” Lance finally asked in astonishment, walking over to the boy on shaky legs as he tried to make sense of it all. Was he somehow still dreaming? Was this for real?? _How could Varian have turned human again (literally) overnight!?_

  
Reading Lance’s expression, Varian let out a soft though slightly awkward chuckle at it. “It’s alright Lance, it’s really me.”

  
“B-b-but _how_!?” Lance cried in a whisper, hardly believing that he was hearing Varian’s voice for the first time in months as he lowered himself down so as to sit by the boy on the boulder…and gently giving Varian a small prod in the shoulder to check to see if he was really real. Varian gently swatted Lance’s hand away with a smile, amused by the man’s confusion, though his expression also taking on a quality of seriousness as Varian lapsed into silence and hugged Rudiger close at Lance’s question. Lance became concerned at this, though respected the boy’s sudden silence as he sat looking down at him at his side, Varian slightly shivering as the silence continued (either out of cold, fear, or something else, Lance wasn’t quite sure).

  
“Hey,” Lance finally said after a few moments, uncertain of what else to do besides bring a comforting arm around Varian’s shoulders. Varian leaned into it gratefully, letting out a shaky sigh. “What happened? Do you want to tell me?”

  
After a short pause, Varian nodded. “Though…” he began uncertainly, stroking Rudiger’s fur gently as the critter looked up at him reassuringly. “You may not believe me when I tell you.”

  
At this remark, Lance couldn’t help but give a short laugh. “Ha ha! Kid, you were a _dragon_ for several weeks’ time, and now you mysteriously become human again!? I think I can handle whatever it is you tell me.”

  
Varian looked up at Lance, giving a grateful nod, and then (with some trembling) preceded to recount what had happened to him earlier that night…

* * *

It had still been pitch black around them, but Varian wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he found himself being awoken from a light doze. He and Rudiger had traveled some distance more that night until they had come to a secluded valley in the hills, where they were sure their friends wouldn’t find them before they were ready to be on the move again the next morning.

  
But sleep did not come easily to Varian, and when it did, it was light and brief. Soon enough, after coming in and out of dozing, Varian felt disjointed in relation to the passage of time, and continued to toss and turn as he waited for the morning to come. It was during this waiting that he found himself suddenly awakened – not sure of what exactly roused him from his dozing, but getting an odd sense that something else was close by to them.

  
…And coming closer.

  
Looking around him in the dark, Varian soon caught sight of a bright glow moving through the trees across the way. Varian thought that perhaps it was this faint glow that had somehow alerted his senses. Was it finally dawning?

  
“No…” Varian thought to himself. “…No, it’s not that kind of light.” Indeed, the light was far too concentrated and white for it to be the first long, warm beams of early morning sunlight. The longer he looked at it, the more Varian thought it had the quality of moonlight. But this could not be it either, surely. For the moon was new that night, and so was not shining at all in the sky, let alone so low on the horizon as to be visible through the trees.

  
“Then…what on earth could it-?”

  
Varian found himself letting out a small, dragonish gasp, his eyes widening, and hardly daring to breathe, as the source of the glow emerged into the valley from the cluster of trees. It appeared to be some sort of four-legged creature, with a glow radiating from it like that of a star. It was tall and slender, and – going by the branchy antlers atop its head – one that Varian first took it to be a kind of stag. But as it drew nearer, Varian could see that it was also unlike a stag, in that its long legs were shaped like a griffin’s, or that of a great bird of prey. It also had a tail like that of a lion. It was a sort of creature Varian had never seen before, and one he thought incredibly beautiful.

  
…And it also _frightened_ him.

  
In being a dragon, when it came to other beings, Varian had – up until that point – felt very little to be afraid _of_ since being in that form. That had perhaps been one of its few comforts to him this whole time. Aside from humankind with their plans and weapons, very few other things would’ve dared to boldly approach a dragon, and/or present a real threat to it. It was _Varian_ who had been among the top predator species, and it was other creatures that had kept their distance from _him_. Even a pack of hungry wolves or an angry bear would’ve thought twice before getting near to him.

  
But now, the stag-like creature made no hesitation as it moved steadily nearer to where the dragon that was Varian lay. And it frightened him – a kind of fear Varian had never experienced before. It was very difficult to explain, but Varian felt it poignantly. It wasn’t the sort of fear one felt in being hunted by a predator or by an enemy…but neither did Varian feel _safe_ around it either, despite the strong resemblance it had to one of the forest’s most mild creatures. The Creature left an impression all of its own; giving Varian no doubt that it was indeed, what perhaps most people would call, “good”. But in those moments, as the Creature drew nearer and nearer, Varian was suddenly faced with the horrible notion that perhaps he didn’t like “goodness” so much as he had always supposed he did.

  
It was a terrible experience. He didn’t like at all this feeling that the Creature impressed upon him, giving him a horrid feeling of inexplicable transparency. He wanted it to go away. He wanted to have every possible valley, mountain, forest, and boulder placed between himself and the Thing that continued to approach him.

  
It was quite close now.

  
Varian wanted to run away. To cry out. _Anything_! But he couldn’t move. Partially out of near-paralyzing fear, and then also out of the curious feeling of being “drawn in”, like he had to stay still and see (or perhaps endure) whatever this Creature was coming to him about. There was no sense of hope in Varian’s mind of the Creature not seeing him, or passing him over on its way to some other business. For during this whole time it had been looking straight at Varian, and this perhaps was the most unsettling thing of all to him. _He_ was undoubtedly its target.

  
Soon enough, the Creature stood itself right in front of Varian, its head bent downward so that its deer-like face was just inches away from his own, and its dark, wise, galaxy-filled eyes looked straight into Varian’s own icy blue ones. Varian couldn’t bear this for long. He shut his eyes tight, turning his head away, waiting anxiously for he-didn’t-know-what to happen to him next, hoping that somehow this was all a dream he would soon wake up from.

  
_“Follow me.”_

  
Varian started, feeling his heart turn to water inside of him as he heard the Creature’s voice. Or did he hear it? Was it even a voice? Try hard as he might, Varian was never quite sure whether or not the Creature actually spoke to him in audible words. But however it was communicating to him, its meaning was unmistakable.

  
_“F-follow you?”_ Varian managed to reply to it in a shaky dragonese, only being able to give quick glances up at its face. _“To wh-where?”_

  
_“Follow me,”_ the Creature simply repeated, waiting patiently for Varian to rise. Varian blinked up at it, claws digging hard into the grassy ground as he felt a horrid tug at his heart.

  
Dare he follow it?

  
…Dare he _not_ follow it!?

  
At this thought, Varian knew that he really only had one choice. As much as he felt incredibly uneasy at the idea of following this strange Creature, the idea of not following it somehow seemed worse. Shakily, Varian managed to rise to his feet, and made to take his first few steps to follow the Creature that awaited him. But as he rose, he felt his tail brush up against something warm and fuzzy lying nearby.

  
“Ruddiger!” Varian suddenly gasped in his mind, now remembering his little friend who – to Varian’s astonishment – continued to lie sleeping peacefully on the soft, dewy turf, completely oblivious to the world around him. Surely Varian couldn’t leave him alone in the forest at night!

  
_“He will be all right,”_ the Creature conveyed to Varian, as if reading his thoughts. Varian’s head whirled round, meeting its gaze once again, and its eyes showing all sincerity as it told him, _“Do not fear for him. He will be waiting for you upon your return. Come.”_

  
It never occurred to Varian to disbelieve the words of the Creature (no one who looked into its serious eyes could do that), and in believing them, an immense relief for the first time that night washed over him. Ruddiger would be all right, and Varian was to return to him! These two reassurances were enough to calm Varian a great deal.

  
Then, with a solemn nod for the Creature to lead on, Varian began to follow it into the darkness beyond.

* * *

Once again that night, the passage of time became hard for Varian to gauge as they walked. Varian’s eyes were now hardly able to leave the Creature as it led the way gracefully before him, and the light it cast highlighted the foliage around them in a silvery brilliance. Varian wasn’t sure if it had been a few minutes or a few hours until they finally came to what appeared to be a sort of garden at the top of a hill, the sweet scents of many fruits and flowers greeting them as they went deeper into it. The crisp night air tussled the leaves above their heads, causing a calming, rustling noise to permeate the air above them, making the place feel very much vibrant and welcoming, with many stars peeping out from the gaps between the branches.

  
Varian breathed in deeply, drinking in the sweet aromas around him, and feeling his mouth begin to water a little at the sight of the fruit trees and berry bushes the lined the pathway around him. (Even before that moment, while in dragon form, Varian had found fruits and berries to be a very welcome refreshment to his carnivorous palette.) He nearly chuckled to himself as he thought of how crazy Ruddiger would’ve gone for such fruits as these.

  
_“Maybe,”_ Varian couldn’t help but think to himself, _“I could take a few back for him, if allowed.”_

  
After a while, Varian heard the gentle sound of running water ahead of them, and presently the Creature led Varian into a clearing where a great round pool spread out before them. The sound of running water had come from a small waterfall that poured down the cliff face at the far end of the it; sending gentle ripples across the water’s surface.

  
As Varian looked at the pool, he noticed two things about it that made it plain that it was no ordinary body of water. The first thing was that its surface shimmered with the reflection of the moon. Or rather, what the reflection of the moon _would’ve_ been, had it actually been shining in the sky that night. Varian did a double take when he saw it – looking first at the reflection, then up at the pitch-black sky lit only by clusters of stars, and then back at the reflection again in utter confusion. For a moment, Varian wondered if he was indeed seeing a reflection, or if it was something _in_ the pool that he was looking at. But the longer he looked at it, the more apparent it became that it was indeed a kind of reflection that he was seeing. Varian’s mind raced to try to figure out the scientific reason behind such a phenomenon, but he involuntarily shivered as his mind drew a blank.

  
Luckily, this uneasiness was soon distracted by Varian also noticing how clear the water was. Where the reflection of the moon did not obstruct his view, Varian could see the pebbles lying at the bottom of the pool; all smooth and of many earthy colors. There didn’t seem to be any fish or frogs or signs of any other aquatic creatures inhabiting it, though there were delicate water lilies growing in clusters in the shallows here and there.  
Soon after Varian had made all these observations, he also came to realize how incredibly thirsty he felt by now, and the urge to plunge his head into the pool and gulp down mouthfuls of the crystal clear water became strong in his mind. Then, right as he was thinking this, the Creature at his side “spoke” to him again, Varian’s head whipping round, his nerves incredibly startled as it did so. Though its words were not alarming.

  
_“If you are thirsty, you may drink.”_

  
Varian blinked up at the Creature a couple times, feeling hesitant, almost self-conscious. Then, after a moment, Varian carefully slid himself up to the water’s edge, and tentatively proceeded to take in a mouthful of the water. It was the coolest, most refreshing water he had ever tasted in his life! Soon enough, Varian had indeed plunged his whole head into the water, gulping down mouthfuls of the water in a kind of giddiness he had not been expecting.

  
After well-quenching his thirst, Varian pulled his head back up out of the water, giving himself a few good shakes to dry himself off. The clear droplets of water coving his head looked briefly like glitter as they flew through the air around him. After giving a sigh of contentment, Varian settled himself down at the water’s edge, unsure of what to do now.

  
_“Come here,”_ the Creature said to him. And Varian had to. Again, despite the Creature’s apparent lack of hostility towards him – and the feeling of refreshment he had gotten from drinking the (enchanted) water – the feeling of not being exactly “safe” around it either began to weigh heavy on him. What was its purpose with him? What was it going to do or say to him? Slowly, and without looking up at its face, Varian approached it, stopping once he was only a few feet away from it, his eyes noting the large, sharp talons of the creature as it stood in front of him. Varian kept his eyes downcast.

  
_“Child,”_ the Creature began gently, Varian for once not feeling inclined to argue with being called such. _“What has happened to your human form?”_

  
Varian swallowed hard, feeling surprisingly unsurprised that the Creature somehow knew this detail about him, and didn’t think to question why it was quizzing him about the matter as he complied to answer. _“I…I altered it.”_

  
_“How did you come to do that, child?”_

  
_“Th-through an elixir that I made.”_

  
_“Why did you make the elixir, child?”_

  
_“…I-I just wanted to be free. They – the Separatists I mean – said it would help make me free. But…”_ Varian paused, wincing hard. _“They were wrong._ I _was wrong. And now…”_ Varian let out a small whimper, tears filling his eyes as all his sorrow came flooding in on him, and Varian felt utterly embarrassed as he suddenly began sobbing uncontrollably. _“I…I don’t know what to do! I just…I-I want my old body back! I w-want my dad back! I want to go home!”_

  
There was a moment’s silence as Varian continued to weep, never before feeling so pitiful and helpless in his life. It was all so useless! He had no idea how he was supposed to get his human body back, he had no idea how he was supposed to get his dad back, and as for home, well, what home had he to go back to?

  
He had truly lost everything. And now, here he was, an injured and pitiful excuse for a dragon (he couldn’t even get _that_ right), blubbing at the feet of the silent, mysterious Creature that stood over him. What was its errand with such a mess as he was anyway? What could it possibly want from him? Did it just delight to coax the tears and pain out of him, and just watch him writhe in his miseries?

  
_Could it not help him?_

  
Once again, as if in answer to his unspoken plea, Varian felt the Creature respond as he sensed it stooping lower towards him. Varian flinched at its movement, his eyes tightly shut, and quivering in a fear and emotion he did not even try to hide. The Creature did not touch him, but Varian began to feel its presence weigh on him more and more the closer it came, its light beginning to feel almost like a kind of burn as it did so, and Varian dreading what it was planning to do to him. Varian almost wanted to shove it away, to make it go away. But something inside of him restrained him, and so he waited.

  
What actually happened was one of the very last things Varian would’ve ever expected. Right above him, he heard the Creature take in a deep lungful of air, and then breathe it out again slowly onto him. It was warm, and to Varian’s utter surprise immensely comforting – not entirely unlike that long-lost feeling of having his mother’s breath warm his forehead when she would’ve held him close whenever he had been in distress; a feeling he had all but forgotten up until that very moment. The breath of the Creature also did not stink like how most animal breaths do. Rather, a strange but wonderful aroma came with it, one that Varian could not recall having encountered before in his memory, but somehow seemed sweetly familiar to him all the same.

  
The breath of the Creature soothed him, and soon enough, Varian found his sobs dissipating into deep, steady breathes of his own, and the tenseness of his limbs began to unwind, a kind of inner peace coming over him unbidden, but most welcome. Whatever the Creature did to him was more effective than any medicinal drugs, but it by no means dulled his senses or made him sleepy. Rather, Varian felt as if his awareness of things had been sharpened if anything, perhaps alarmingly so, but it was also an ineffable relief.

  
_“Stand,”_ the Creature now bid him kindly. Varian got up in response, feeling a new sense of strength in him as he did so.

  
_“My child,”_ the Creature said, _“I have heard your cry for help, and I have come to restore your human form to you once again.”_

  
Varian’s face shot up to look at the Creature, completely stunned, hardly believing the words he just heard. By this point, there was little doubt in Varian’s mind that this wondrous Creature was indeed capable of such a thing (somehow)…but Varian found hope and caution wrestling together in him, his heart not wanting to bear any further disappointment should his flickering doubts turn out to be true. Varian dropped his eyes.

  
_“Speak your thoughts,”_ the Creature invited him, and Varian plucked up the courage to ask in reply, _“I…I don’t understand. I mean, h-how are you going to do that? Um, please?”_

  
_“I will tell you,”_ it replied. _“The pool before you will purge the elixir from your body upon bathing in it. But before it can do so, all your scales must be removed from you.”_

  
Varian cocked his head to the side, confused. He didn’t quite understand the logic of this treatment that had now been prescribed to him, and had a hard time seeing what the necessity was of having his scales removed before diving in to the pool. (And anyway, shouldn’t ingesting the water – as he’d already done – have also been an effective treatment?) But he also wasn’t about to argue with the great Creature who told him so.

  
_“…Well, alright…”_ Varian managed to reply, and rather clumsily at first – for he had never tried it before – he began to scratch at the surface of his scaly hide, trying to gingerly remove his scales (because of course he didn’t want to hurt himself). Soon enough though, Varian figured out how to do so swiftly and painlessly, and after a few minutes, he found he was actually peeling off an entire layer of his epidermis. This disturbed him for a fleeting second – as Varian was of the squeamish sort – but the courage he had received from the Creature’s breath was still strong within him, and so he continued on steadily until he had completely removed his outer skin like a snake.

  
After stepping out of it, Varian gave himself a full body shake, relishing the feeling of the cool night breeze that brushed across his fresh layer of skin that glistened a fresh, deep, and handsome ebony in the pale light. With a happy sigh, Varian turned to wade his way into the pool…but stopped as he looked down at his forelegs, noticing the second layer of skin also sporting many a shiny scale.

  
_“Oh,”_ Varian remarked flatly, then turned his eyes hopefully to the Creature. _“Um…do-do these need to come off too, or…?”_ The Creature nodded. With a small, punctured huff, Varian began scratching the second layer of skin off himself, and now found it came off easily. Soon enough Varian stepped out of the second layer of skin with another shake, and then thinking, _“All right, that’s that finally!”_ he went to make his way into the pool.  
But again, he saw even more scales covering him underneath that second layer.

  
_“Oh, come on!”_ Varian growled in frustration, dreading the idea of having to take yet another layer off of himself. But before he could begin to do so, the Creature spoke to him yet again.

  
_“You will have to let me help you.”_

  
Varian looked back at it, very puzzled. _“_ You’ll _get them off?”_ Varian asked. _“But how?”_

  
But as soon as the question escaped Varian’s mouth, he knew its answer. For the first time since being imbued with courage, Varian felt his blood begin to run cold at the idea. Surely the Creature didn’t mean-!

  
The Creature nodded.

  
Varian backed away a couple paces, eyes wide as horrible doubts began to crowd again into his mind as he thought about what the Creature was asking him to do. Or rather, what it was asking him to allow it to do. Varian once again noted the long, dark talons that stood rooted to the ground in front of him, and the idea of them ripping into his hide made him feel sick.

  
“Why!?” his thoughts nearly screamed at him. “Why!? It’s not fair! It shouldn’t ask me to go through with something like that! Why does it have to be that!? It will hurt! I know it will! It’s going to hurt me! Does this Creature want to see me in pain!? Why can’t I just be cured as I am? Why can’t I be left alone? Why this!? Why me!?”

  
_Why…?_

  
The question hung in a silent echo around them, the Creature waiting for Varian’s decision, making no effort to answer his unspoken but greatly implied query as it calmly looked at him. Varian shifted uncomfortably under its gaze, his heart and will battling with his fears of pain and blood and the feeling of bewilderment, as his destiny seemed to hang precariously upon his next answer.

  
Dare he go through with such an operation!?

  
…Dare he _not_ go through with it!?

  
Again, Varian was faced with considering the alternative to this course of action the Creature was asking him to follow. In declining now, Varian would of course avoid the pain the operation undoubtedly entailed for him. But then what? He would likely be condemning himself to live as a dragon for the rest of his natural life, and it’s not like that would be a pain-free experience either. There was no other solution offered to him at this point after all. This may be his only chance to change back. If he did go through with it, the promise of his restoration lay on the other side. That clearly closed the case for him then, right?

  
…Or did it? The horrible creeping doubt concerning the Creature’s promise now shoved its way to the forefront of Varian’s mind. Could he really trust it to keep its promise? What if this was all some sort of elaborate trap, or a ruse? What if the operation not only pained him greatly, but ended up killing him as well? What evidence did Varian have that he could trust this mysterious Being that not only seemed to know all about his past pains, but also meant to bring him even more pain in the present moment? Was it really so unfeeling as all that!?

  
_“And yet…and yet…”_

  
Varian found his mind rewinding in his thoughts, thinking back to the one fact that stood out among them all – that this mysterious Creature did somehow know about his past pains. That in itself had been remarkable, when Varian thought about it, and even more so now that he began to question what the Creature could possibly have hoped to gain from knowing about them, and then seeking him out as if to help him. But Varian had nothing to offer it. What could it be hoping to gain from him?

  
It then occurred to Varian with a start that throughout this whole encounter the Creature had never asked _anything_ of him. Well, except, that is, for him to follow and to trust it, which oddly enough entailed both a no-cost to himself, while also the immense cost of putting his entire welfare into its hands (or talons). Perhaps then…it wasn’t that the _Creature_ hoped to gain something from Varian, but that Varian was able to gain hope _from_ the Creature - the hope that he had really been following this whole time since becoming a dragon; the hope that kept him holding out for his father all these months; the hope that had always kept him going, never asking anything of him except to keep going, even before any of this had ever happened. Had the faint glimmers he had been following all this time been leading him to this culmination?

  
Would he continue to hope now? Would he dare to trust the Creature with this drastic act? Dare he _not_ trust it?

  
Varian breathed a shaky, heavy sigh, and braced himself for what was about to happen as he finally forced himself to give a nod in the affirmative for the Creature to carry out its plan for him. The final card had been played; Varian’s next move was to not move. It was the worst thing Varian ever had to do, but he somehow managed to remain still as the Creature approached him, Varian shutting his eyes tight before it could make the first incision.

  
Varian let out a great dragon’s cry as he felt the long talons make the first gash into his scaly hide. As the Creature began pulling the layers of scales off of Varian it hurt worse than any physical pain Varian had ever felt up until that moment. Yet, greatly to his astonishment, it also came with the unexpected _pleasure_ of feeling the heavy and rough dragon’s skin come off of him, leaving smooth and soft flesh in its place. When it had all started, Varian had dreaded the idea of the operation lasting for a good few hours of agony, but now found that the Creature had carried it out in a matter of moments.

  
Afterwards, the Creature wasted no time in catching hold of Varian (who gave a sharp yelp of pain as it did so), and threw him into the moonlit waters of the pool. For a moment, Varian’s whole body stung with horrible sensitivity as the cool waters enveloped him, closing over his head, and Varian thrashed around in confusion and near panic as he became completely submerged. Sinking to the pool’s rocky bottom – aching, stiff, exhausted, and holding his breath till his temples felt like bursting – Varian was sure it would only be a matter of moments before he drowned.

  
This was where it would all end for him…

  
But then, just as he was about to resign himself to such a dismal fate, Varian felt all the pain seep out of his limbs, and was replaced instead with a cool freshness that made him feel more alive than he ever felt before in his life. But there was still the issue of lack of air. Now, with his body no longer stiff and hurting, Varian quickly righted himself, and pushed himself upward from the bottom of the pool, taking in a huge lungful of air as his head broke through the surface.

  
Varian floundered for a bit, taking in more gulps of air, trying to steady himself, and to shake off the patch of lilies and water weeds that must’ve plastered themselves to the top of his head after he had came up from under them. But no matter which way he shook his head, the wet and clinging mass refused to come off, and continued to obstruct his vision and drip water into his eyes. With a sound of frustration, Varian reached up a hand to wipe the water out of his face, and then to pull the weeds off from on top of-

  
_Wait-!_

  
“Aah!” Varian found himself yelping aloud, staring wide-eyed at the spindly shape that he held in front of his face. Was it…? Yes!  
It really was a hand! _His_ hand! His _human_ hand!

  
Varian also now realized that what had been clinging to his head was not actually vegetation, but had been his own hair! With both hands (Varian never before realizing how happy one could be at seeing their own hands), Varian parted his bangs from his eyes, blinking away the small streams of water that trickled down his face (his now very human face!) as he scrambled his way back to the shallows.

  
For a minute, Varian knelt in the shallows of the pool, the water lapping gently around his torso as he caught his breath, and his eyes fixed on the now familiar reflection that stared back up at him, his dark bangs (with their signature blue streak) dripping droplets of water that created tiny ripples across it, and his fingers curling round the small and soft sediments that lined the bottom of the shallows as his hands supported him. Finally, after the shock of it all began to wear off, Varian found his voice begin to crescendo into almost hysterical laughter as the adrenaline that had flooded his system began to subside, and he lay his face in his hands as he continued to laugh uncontrollably.

  
…Or was he crying? Laughing? Crying? Both? Probably both.

  
After a while, as Varian’s giggles and sobs began to quiet into hiccupping sounds, he wiped the last of the water and tears from his face, and became aware of something else standing in the water right in front of him. Varian looked up, coming face-to-face with the Creature, it’s muzzle just inches away from Varian’s face, their eyes meeting. The Creature didn’t say anything to him, and Varian made no efforts to speak either. Words failed him. For a second he felt he ought to say something. But then he didn’t want to. And then knew he needn’t. It was all right.

  
In understanding, the Creature came right up to Varian, placing its nose lightly on his forehead. Again, Varian felt something like a burn coming from it, but it wasn’t a burn that hurt, and he felt strength and courage come into him once again in the Creature’s gesture. Varian had shut his eyes as it had come near, and upon feeling its touch, boldly brought his hands up and wrapped his arms around its head, burying his tear-stained face into the Hart’s shimmering fur.

  
Then, suddenly, Varian felt himself falling forward, the Creature vanishing in a flurry of silver, leaving Varian’s upper body unsupported. As Varian’s arms flung forward to catch himself, he was startled to find that instead of splashing back through the clear waters of the pool, his hands lay splayed out on soft grass, and instead of feeling his body half submerged in water, he felt completely dry, with the weight of clean clothes covering him from his neck to his feet.

  
Varian blinked rapidly, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness that had enveloped him in the absence of the Creature’s light. Varian wondered where it had gone, and wondered where he was, for the moonlit pool had seemed to have vanished as well. He was thoroughly confused.

  
“Wh-what just hap-?” Varian began to ask aloud, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a high-pitched squeal coming from a little to his left, and the sound of something quickly approaching came through the rustling foliage. Varian’s head whipped round just in time to see the furry form of Ruddiger careen itself into him, knocking him over (though not hard enough to hurt him) with its force and speed.

  
“Ruddiger!” Varian cried out with joy as the little raccoon bounced joyfully on the boy’s chest, letting off little chitters and trills of ecstatic delight as it nuzzled into his master’s face. Varian hugged the little critter close, stroking his fur and scratching his ears as Ruddiger continued to chatter on to him. With a small twinge of sadness, Varian found that he could no longer understand Ruddiger’s words…but he took their meaning, and O how glad he was to see him!

  
“I’m back Ruddiger,” Varian muttered into his fur, Ruddiger stroking his face with his little paws in response. “I’m back…”

* * *

There was a long silence as Varian came to the end of his account, the sky above him, Lance, and Ruddiger having by now turned to lighter shades of blue, mixed with warm golds and pinks as the sun began to break over the eastern horizon. Lance had no idea how to respond to such a tale. He wasn’t even quite sure he believed all that Varian had just told him. Varian himself seemed to be already struggling with doubts about what happened to him.

  
“You…you don’t think it was all just a dream I had, do you?” Varian finally ventured to ask, his tone of voice conveying his hidden distress at the idea that none of it had actually been real after all.

  
Lance thought for a moment. “Well,” he began hesitantly, “obviously _something_ happened to you. I mean, you are here after all. Like this I mean.”   
“Mm,” Varian muttered in the affirmative, again lapsing into thoughtful silence, his fingers stroking Rudiger’s fur, who had been listening to the whole thing from Varian’s lap.

  
“…What do you think it was?” Varian asked some moments later. “The Creature I mean.”

  
Lance shrugged. “I don’t know kid,” he replied. “Almost sounds like something out of a fairytale though, don’t you think?”

  
Varian frowned, looking deeply concerned. “Fairytales aren’t real.”

  
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Lance said, Varian looking up at him quizzically. “I mean, we all thought dragons were only things outta fairytales, but then there you go showing up as one. And those jerks who gave you the dragon scale powder; where did they get it, if not from another dragon from way back when?”

  
Varian brought a thoughtful gloved hand to his chin. Lance had a good point.

  
“And hey,” Lance continued, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You never know! Maybe we’re all living in a fairytale ourselves right now and don’t even know it!”

  
Varian let out an amused snort. “Yeah right, I doubt it.”

  
“I dunno,” Lance said, lacing his fingers together as he stretched his arms above his head, his knuckles giving a smart crack as he did so. “This world seems to be full of some pretty crazy stuff kid. Like this one time, when Eugene and I were pulling off this job for the Baron, we happened to come across these-”

  
“Shh! Listen!” Varian suddenly shushed, all three of them listening for what Varian had heard. Soon enough, they heard the sounds of Cass, Eugene, and Rapunzel all calling out for Lance and Varian, their voices carrying keenly through the trees.

  
“Oop! We should probably get back to them now,” Lance said. “They gotta be worried about us.”

  
Lance got up from the boulder, stretching his stiff muscles as he did so. He then turned back to Varian, who looked uncertain about seeing the others again.

  
“Hey,” Lance said to him reassuringly, holding out his hand to the boy. “You ready?”

  
Varian looked down at Lances hand, then relented with a small smile and grabbed it in return. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied as Lance pulled Varian to his feet, and Rudiger draped himself across Varian’s shoulders, the trio making their way back to the camp, and their friends calling their names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final note: While I don't intend to write any more chapters for this mini-saga, one Tumblr user - @variansmyson - did write a two-part epilogue that you can find at the links down below!
> 
> "Aftermath of Events", Part 1 - https://codynaomiswireart.tumblr.com/post/171659795505/variansmyson-aftermath-of-events-part-one
> 
> "Aftermath of Events", Part 2 - https://codynaomiswireart.tumblr.com/post/171672681210/variansmyson-aftermath-of-events-part-two


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